Splintered
by dees1
Summary: Clark is under the influence of silver Kryptonite, causing him to have paranoid delusions. He feels he cannot trust anyone – his parents, Lana and Chloe. Meanwhile, Lois is away in Washington DC visiting her father and Lucy when she transported to the Fortress by Jor-el who asks for her help to save his son. In return, Jor-el gives her an unexpected gift…
1. Chapter 1

Pairings: Clois / Lexana

Spoilers: Based on event in Season 5 Splinter, but goes a/u with some references to events of season 5.

Plot: Clark is under the influence of silver Kryptonite, causing him to have paranoid delusions. He feels he cannot trust anyone – his parents, Lana and Chloe. Meanwhile, Lois is away in Washington DC visiting her father and Lucy when she transported to the Fortress by Jor-el who asks for her help to save his son. In return, Jor-el gives her an unexpected gift…

Lois sat back after her massive dinner at one of her favourite Italian Restaurants in DC. It had taken over a week for her appetite to return after the recent events in Metropolis. Being kidnapped by a white slavery gang was very stressful to say the least, although not as stressful as having to lap dance an uptight farm boy. All the money in the world could not make that easy. She had never seen anyone squirm as much as he had on that chair although she did notice some reaction from him.

"Lo, do you want some more dessert?" Her father's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"No, daddy. I have eaten so much that I am going to regret it." Lois smiled back.

She never thought her dad would be this attentive and nice, but when he had found out about her ordeal, he had booked her on the first plane out of Metropolis to spend some time with him at his base in DC. He was now an advisor on the Pentagon senior staff not that he ever said much about it. Lucy was there on holiday from Switzerland and it was the perfect opportunity to catch up. In fact she had made a point of switching her cell off, as she wanted a complete break from her life in Smallville.

"It is great to have us all together in the same room." Lucy added. "We should do this more often.. I am sorry I need to leave tomorrow."

"Looks like it will be you and I for a few days." Lois smiled to her father.

Lois sat catching up with her sister once her father had retired for the night.

"So Lucy, how is your love life?"

"It is fine. I am having fun, and am much too young to be tied down." She laughed.

"I hope you are not doing anything stupid." Lois was concerned.

"Well there are lots of things I would not want the General to know if that is what you mean. Anyway don't tell you have been a nun since you moved to Kansas. I am sure you have had your fair share of men."

"Luce, are you kidding? Smallville does not boast many gorgeous male model types."

"How about Clark?" Lucy asked. "He is a bit of a hottie underneath all of that plaid."

"Don't be gross.. I told you about the lapdance last week. It looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. I don't think he is normal. I mean he has one of the hottest girl in town, and the way Chloe talks they are not exactly setting a world record in the bedroom department." Lois went red just from talking about it.

"So there has not been anyone?"

"Well there was one man – A.C but Clark chased him off."

Lucy nodded knowingly. "You know what I think… I think the farm boy has a thing for you and he has not realised it yet."

"No way! He is way too obsessed with Lana. Anyway I am not attracted to him in any way, shape or form. Hell would have to freeze over before I would even go there." Lois grimaced.

Lois headed to bed about 1am as she was going to go to the airport with Lucy in the morning to see her off.  
She was soon tossing and turning, having inappropriate dreams about Clark, thanks to Lucy and her crazy ideas.

She decided to go and grab a drink of water to see if she could shake off thoughts of him.

She put her dressing gown on and opened her bedroom door, and suddenly felt the ground moving underneath her. She closed her eyes, thinking she was having an attack of vertigo,

Soon she felt steadier, and she opened her eyes.. The sight in front of her made almost made her pass out, but she managed to compose herself.

"I am must be dreaming." She muttered, her voice echoing across the large white structure she found herself standing in.

"Lois Lane….welcome.." A loud voice boomed across the structure.

"I am going to click my heels three times and hope I end up back in DC." She quipped to herself convinced she was dreaming.

"I will return you but first I would ask you to listen to what I have to say." The voice continued.

"Ok… I will play along and then I might wake up. Who are you?" She asked.

"I am Jor-el of the House of El." He announced. "I am not a real person, but an artificial intelligence of the real Jor-el."

"I know you are not real. I am dreaming after all." She fired back.

"Lois Lane, I assure you that this is really happening."

Lois's heart started to pound with the realisation that maybe he was telling the truth. After all this was starting to feel real. "Where am I?"

"You are in the Arctic. The exact coordinates are.."

She stopped him. "Mr El, how did I end up in the Arctic. Minutes ago I was asleep in my father's apartment in Washington DC."

"I transported you here." Jor-el replied as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"So how did you do that?"

"That is not of any importance at the moment. I would not have brought you here unless it was important. My son is in danger."

"Your son. Is he an AI too?" she asked.

"No, he is a real Kryptonian. The only one on Earth." Jor-el explained.

"What is a Kryptonian?" she inquired, sitting down on a nearby ice structure.

"Krypton was a planet light years from here. We were very technological advanced but not advanced enough to prevent the population from destroy itself. My son is the sole survivor. I sent him to Earth to save his life and to give him a chance."

Lois nodded, trying not to show her disbelief at what she was hearing "So why is he in danger now?"

"He has been infected with a substance which has completely altered his mental state. He is at risk of doing something which could affect his life on Earth. He has already become dangerous and he needs to be removed before he can do any damage."

Lois was puzzled. "So why not bring him here?"

"Kal-el was poisoned by an advanced alien android named the Brain Interactive Construct or Brainiac as he is known. Brainiac will stop at nothing to convince Kal-el to destroy this fortress. My son needs to be protected from Brainiac and to be kept as far as possible away from here."

"So what is the end game in all this? Can Kal-el be cured?" she tried not to upset Jor-el but then realised he was just a computer.

"There is no known cure. The substance will eventually work its way out of his system in about 5-7 earth days. He can destroy Brainiac but not whilst he is suffering from such mental instability."

"So, Jor-el, why bring me here? What has a General's daughter who lives on a farm at the moment possibly have to make her your son's saviour?" Lois could not understand why she was the chosen one.

"Because Lois Lane, you are his soul mate, the one who makes him whole and the one who helps him to become Earth's saviour." Jor-el announced.

"So, hold on… you are saying that he is my future partner." She was horrified at being hooked up with someone she did not even know. "No pressure then…"

"Yes, that is what I am saying."

"I hope he is hot." Lois said under her breath as a way of trying to calm herself down.

"Kal-el is neither hot nor cold. His average body temperature runs at one degree over the human average."

Lois laughed to herself. There was no doubt she was talking to a computer. "So how can I keep him from Brainiac?"

"Kal-el is suffering from extreme psychosis and paranoid delusions. He is convinced that everyone he ever trusted is against him!"

"So why will he trust me?" Lois asked.

"Because he has a bond with you that can never be broken. He would never hurt you!" Jor-el said confidentally.

"Don't worry, Mr El – one wrong move and I can take your son down." She announced cockily.

"That is very unlikely, Lois Lane. Kal-el has powers." Jor-el explained all about his son's gifts. Lois listened intently.

"So he is not your regular guy!" she joked, realising he would not get it.

"Time is of the essence, Lois Lane and there is so much more to tell you. I will send you back to your room now in case your absence is discovered, but would you be willing to come back tomorrow night?" Even though he was a computer, there was almost a pleading sound in his voice.

For some reason, Lois knew what she had to do. "Yes, I will."

"Please do not tell anyone of your time here. It could endanger my son and other people around him. I will bring you here the same time tomorrow night. Thank you for listening to me. I can see why Kal-el picked you." Jor-el announced.

Lois closed her eyes, and waited. She felt movement, and then felt the familiar carpet under her feet again. She opened her eyes, and noticed she was standing by the bedroom door. She looked at her watch and noticed she had been away for almost an hour.

She lay down on the bed, the thoughts all swirling around her head. She felt nervous, but there was a hint of excitement at the same time. She just hoped this Kal-el was not some green skinned reptilian man because although she would never judge someone solely by his looks, this scenario would be pushing it a little too far.

Eventually she feel asleep, her dreams full of ice palaces, computers, lizard men and for some reason the episode of Dynasty where Fallon was allegedly abducted by aliens…


	2. Chapter 2

Maybe it was the tiredness from her fitful night of sleep, but Lois was beginning to have doubts about Jor-el. She did not doubt that he was real but what if his intentions were not honourable. Perhaps he was part of some plan for an alien invasion and he wanted to take her over.

"Lo, are you ok?" her father asked as they drove back from Dulles Airport after dropping Lucy off.

"You seem like you are on a different planet."

Without thinking, she snapped due to the irony of her father's question. "What do you mean?"

"You just don't seem yourself." He smiled.

She changed her expression. "I am sorry, daddy. I just didn't sleep well. I think it was the wine from last night."

Her father smiled at her. "What do you fancy doing today, Lo? Your choice!"

Lois and her father took in a few museums, and a nice spot of lunch before her father had to attend a brief meeting before meeting up for dinner.

Lois decided to break her silence policy and decided to ring Chloe to see if there was any gossip. Mind you, the hottest news from Smallville tended to be the birth of a new calf or lamb.

"Hi Chloe, how are you? I bet you are missing me like crazy."

It was soon evident that Chloe was not distracted as she did not reply. All Lois heard was a familiar voice saying. "I can't believe I trusted you. Stay away from me or you will regret it!" But there was venom and anger in his words and if Lois had not known better she would say Clark sounded threatening.

"Clark, I didn't say anything." She heard Chloe say in reply.

"Hi Lo, sorry about that!" Chloe said after a few seconds.

"Was that Smallville? You cannot let him talk to you like that. What have you done to him?"

"Eh….nothing. We just had a minor disagreement!" Chloe was not convincing.

"It doesn't sound minor. I will call him and get back to you." Lois determinedly answered.

Before Chloe could talk her out of it, she hung up.

She dialled Clark. "Clark, you had better have a good explanation for this. I have just overheard you threaten Chloe."

"Lois, it is none of your business and I would appreciate if you not get involved in matters that do not concern you." He replied.

"Don't you dare hang up!" She ordered and for some reason he listened. "Chloe, is your best friend, and she has stuck by you through all of the Lana crap over the years, so please don't you ever treat her like something you have stepped on." Lois was annoyed.

"Lois, please stay out of this! It is between Chloe and I." his voice sounded calmer and his request sounded almost like pleading. "Look, I have to go now, and talk to my parents." He hung up.

She rang Chloe back. "Sorry cuz. I tried but he did not want to divulge what had happened, and told me to stay out of it."

"I have to agree with him on this one. We will sort it out. It is just a misunderstanding and I am sure he will come to his senses." Chloe replied, but Lois could detect worry in her cousin's voice.

She knew she had to give up until she returned to Smallville the following day. If that was where she was headed because Jor-el seemed to have different plans for her.

She took a deep breath. "I will see you tomorrow afternoon." Lois announced as she said her goodbyes. She had decided that there was more important things going on in Smallville and Kal-el or whatever his name was, would just have to wait.

Lois was pre-occupied that night at dinner and asked if her father minded if she headed to bed early that night. Her father needed to take her to the airport early anyway so he agreed.

Lois fell asleep, but then woke at 1am again like she had the previous night. She put on her sweater as she only had her dressing gown and nightie on the previous night at the Fortress. Even though Jor-el was a computer, she still valued her modesty.

She soon found herself standing in the ice palace. "Lois Lane, welcome back…"

"So Jor-el before we start, I just wanted to say that I have matters back in Smallville to deal with. I need to put my friends and family first."

"What is happening in Smallville?" Jor-el asked.

Lois wondered why he wanted to know but decided to humour him. "I am sure it is of no interest to you but my cousin Chloe has had a major falling out with Smallville."

"Smallville? How does a person fall out with a town?" He asked in a puzzled tone.

"Sorry, I mean Clark. When I spoke to her on the phone I overheard him threatening her and it is so out of character for him." Lois replied concerned.

"Has he hurt her?" Jor-el asked.

"No, Clark wouldn't. He is too nice for that." She replied, worried by the fact she had just paid him a compliment.

"Then you must move quickly and return to Smallville."

"I cannot go until tomorrow." Lois replied but then wondered why Jor-el was so interested.

"Wait a moment. You wanted me to help to save your son, now you are telling me to return home. What is up with that?"

"Your friend could be in danger. I have already told you he is unpredictable and erratic."

Lois shook her head. "Have you blown a circuit? I am talking about a plaid obsessed farmboy called Clark Kent… you are talking about an intergalactic powerhouse who is destined to save the world. Talk about two ends of spectrum!" She managed a smile at that one.

"Lois Lane, please listen carefully. My son, Kal-el broke through Earth's atmosphere on the 16th October 1989, and landed in a field just outside the town of Smallville, Kansas. His ship hit with the meteor shower which almost decimated the surrounding area. Driving along the road at the time was a young couple called Martha and Jonathan Kent. They found my son, adopted him and raised him as their own son. They renamed him…"

"Clark Kent! Oh my god!" Lois suddenly felt whoozy…

"Lois Lane, are you ok?" Jor-el asked.

"You have just told me that the farm boy I live with is an alien. I am sorry if it takes me a few moments to get used to the idea." She fired back in a sarcastic tone.

Then the even more frightening realisation dawned on her. "You mean…Clark and I…. you know…"

"No, I don't know." He replied naively.

"Are Clark and I destined to be together?"

"Yes, you and Kal-el share a bond which cannot be broken."

"You have definitely blown a circuit. We cannot even stand to be in the same room as each other most of the time."

"Well, I am just telling you how the future will turn out." Jor-el answered defensively. "Anyway, back to the matter in hand. Will you help my son?"

"Of course I will. I would do anything for Clark." She said without realising the complete contradiction to her previous protestations.

"There are many things you need to know about my son and Brainiac before you leave on your mission."

"Ok, I'm listening." She said, feeling excited but not wanting to admit it to herself.

Jor-el's bombshell had actually made a lot of things fall into place – the unexplained absences, the hushed conversation between Clark and his parents when she entered the room and of course the sight of a barn door flying through the air.

He went on to tell her about life on Krypton, Clark's trials during the past few years, the different forms of meteor rock, and some important information about Brainiac. She listened to his every word intently, trying to retain as much as possible to help her with the coming days.

"Since you are my future father-in-law, could you call me Lois? This 'Lois Lane' moniker makes me feel like a school teacher.

"I agree, Lois." He replied but still with the same stilted voice.

"So is there anything else I need to know." She asked.

"There is one thing. I want to offer you a gift."

Lois interrupted. "I don't need payment. I would do anything for your son." She replied, realising she meant it without question.

"This is a gift to help you. Until sundown seven days from now, you will have the powers equal to my son. How you choose to use them is up to you, but be careful that Brainiac does not discover them."

"How…can you do that?" She replied incredulously.

"I gave them to Jonathan Kent two years ago, as a gift to save his son from himself, but it weakened his heart. You need not worry. You are strong and I am assured that you can handle these powers." Jor-el explained. "Of course you can refuse them but I would advise you not to."

Lois looked worried. "But I thought you said Clark would never hurt me."

"He won't but you need to be able to move quickly and defend yourself and others from Brainiac. Kal-el may be unable to compete with him whilst under the influence of Brainiac's poison."

"I will accept your gift and I think Clark is lucky to have a Kryptonian father to look out for him. He may not see that now, but I am sure one day he will."

"Thank you, Lois. I will now return you to Washington DC. Good luck. I know you will prevail."

Lois soon found herself back in her room. She lay on the bed, trying to work out if she felt any different from before she had been bestowed with superpowers. She didn't, and she decided to follow Jor-el's advice about taking time to discover her newfound gifts. After all it had apparently taken Clark years.

Soon, she found her thoughts wandering to Clark, and wondering when they crossed this line from friends to lovers. She had always secretly found him to be cute, and underneath all those checks, he did have a hot body. However she had never admitted it to anyone else, hell she even had problems admitting it to herself most of the time.

Her father woke her early the following morning. Her plane left at 11am but with the increased security due to a national visit from the Russian President, there was a three hour check in. She half wished she could speed her way to Kansas but she would probably take a wrong turn and end up in Florida.

To top it off with her father's level of access to restricted information he would find out which seat she had sat in, what she had eaten and how long she had slept during the flight. He was always one for checking up, so he may have been suspicious if she was not on the plane to start off with.

She spent the flight formulating a plan to tackle the Brainiac problem. She decided to observe for a while unless Clark had absolutely lost it and was putting people at risk. Jor-el had assured her that she had no weaknesses as far as he knew, and that meteor rock would have no effect on her as she was not Kryptonian.

"Lois…" Chloe screamed excitedly as she met Lois at the arrivals lounge.

"Chloe, are you ok?" Lois asked taken aback. "I have only been gone for a week."

"I just missed you, that's all. Tell me about your trip. Did you meet any men?"

"Maybe…" Lois remained mysterious as that story could help to explain any potential absences if needed.

"Anyway, there is time to tell you all about later; I am more concerned with your fight with Clark." Lois continued.

Chloe clammed up. "I told you it was nothing. He is just in one of those teenage moods. I have not seen him for a few days." Lois could see she was lying.

Chloe dropped Lois off at the farm. She walked in on a full-on fight between Clark Kent and his parents…


	3. Chapter 3

ois could see the tense atmosphere between Clark and his parents. "Am I interrupting?" she asked sheepishly. As usually happened Clark and his parents stopped their heated discussion and started inanely smiling at each other, as though everything was perfect.

"Lois…" Martha went up and hugged her. "Everything is fine." Lois could see from the red rings around Martha's eyes that she had been crying and things were far from okay.

Clark's smile did not last long. "Let's celebrate, Lois is home." He announced harshly as he brushed past her and headed out of the door. "I am going over to the loft."

Jonathan shouted after him. "Clark, come back now and apologise to Lois."

He then turned to Lois. "I am so sorry. He doesn't mean it. I think he is stressed from university."

"I will go and see him." Lois said determinedly. She did not wait for a reaction, and smiled and left.

Clark was sitting down with his back to the sofa, throwing a ball at the wall repeatedly. "I would have knocked but I have never found the door."

He did not even look up. "Look…I am not in the mood for jokes."

"No kidding, Smallville. I have been back in town for 2 minutes and you still manage to rip my head off. What is going on?"

He looked up at her; his expression was odd. He looked nervous, almost like he was living on the edge. "Since when do you have right to know what is going on in my life."

"Look, Clark, don't tell me and to be honest I don't care. I am sorry to bother you." She turned around, and started to head down the stairs, walking slowly with the hope he would react.

He did. "Lois, come back. I have just had a bad few days. Someone ran me off the road yesterday and made me flip the truck. The police and my parents think I am going mad, as they have found no evidence that I was followed. They think I lost concentration, and made the truck roll."

"Who was following you?" she sat down on the sofa behind him. He stood up and sat next to her.

"You don't have to humour me!" he managed a weak smile.

"I am not humouring you. I want to help you find out what happened. You are not exactly a reckless driver, and I cannot see you being able to flip a truck, somehow. I tell you what, let me drive you to where it happened and we will see if we can find any clues." She said with encouragement.

She found herself looking at Clark in a different way. This young man sitting next to her was allegedly the future love of her life, if an alien computer was to be believed. She could see in his eyes that he was scared and puzzled by the events.

"I bet you have somewhere else you would rather be." He announced softly.

"No, not really. I will cancel my busy schedule for the day, just so I can hang around with you."

Clark's expression suddenly changed and he started to get up. "You don't believe me either, do you?" he said with paranoia in his voice.

Lois grabbed his hand, and pulled him back down. "I do believe you, and I want to try and find out what happened. " she said with enough sincerity to make him believe her.

"Ok…, shall we go? I will let you drive." He joked.

They climbed into her car and drove off much to the confusion of Martha and Jonathan who were watching out of the window.

Lois could feel how tense Clark was but decided she needed to continue as he would expect. "So Clark, what was all that about with Chloe? She must have really annoyed you to make you threaten her like that. Of course, I know it was just a figure of speech."

He looked across at her. "I was wondering how long it would be before you brought that up. I don't really want to talk about it."

"But you are speaking to her now. "

"No… but I am sure we will be fine." Clark did not sound too convinced.

"Did you not get hurt yesterday? You look okay." She asked.

"I jumped clear before it rolled." He explained. "I guess I was just lucky. The truck is totally wrecked."

"You are lucky!" she said. "We're here."

Clark got out the car and walked over the where it happened. He was looking intensely at the road, making Lois realise that he was probably scanned with his super-vision, as she called it. She concentrated too, and low and behold, she started to zoom in on the road. But there was nothing, confirmed by Clark's disappointed look on his face.

After a few moments, he stopped. "Lois, maybe I was imagining things. "

"I don't think you were. You seem very lucid to me."

He looked at her in a different way. "Thank you… Lois… for believing in me." He hugged her, as though he needed support.

Lois held on to him and realised that the silver meteor rock was starting to infect Clark more. She needed to make sure she stayed close to him.

"Whoa… easy on the hugs, Smallville" She pulled away grimacing, pretending he had gripped her too tightly.

Clark grabbed Lois's hand and led her back to the car. He suddenly seemed to have a new spring in his step.

"Lois, will you drive me to CKU? There is someone there who believes me." He explained.

"Who?" Lois asked.

"My professor, Milton Fine. He said he was followed by a similar car to me the other day. Maybe it was the same one."

Lois smiled, realising she was going to come face to face with Brainiac.

Lois was expecting a fight to get Clark to allow her to stay with him, and was shocked when she didn't.

"Lois, can you come with me? I need someone sane to back up my story." He smiled.

"You call me sane!" she laughed back.

For some reason, Clark took hold off her hand and led her into the campus. It was as though he needed someone to hold onto, to support him.

They approached the lecture hall, and waited outside of the door. Lois looked in and noticed a man standing in front of the projector screen. As he turned around, she was shocked.

"My god, Clark. Take a few pounds and years off him, and make his hair blond, and you know who he looks like."

Clark smiled. "Yes, he looks like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Meanwhile, Milton Fine excused himself from his class for a few moments, and approached Clark with a puzzled look. He took Clark to one side away from Lois. "I was wondering if you'd forgotten about me. Is everything all right?"

" No. Chloe's in on it, too, so are my parents." He announced thinking Lois was well out of earshot

"In on what?" Fine asked as though he had no clue what Clark was going on about.

Clark looked at him. "The black truck that's been following us around - did you get any information from campus security?"

"Campus security?"

"Professor Fine! You said you were gonna talk to them earlier today when I told you about it yesterday."

" Clark, I haven't seen you in over a week."

Clark was becoming more uneasy, looking at Lois for support. "No, no. We spoke this morning. After class we talked about it - the black truck. You were gonna talk to campus security."

"I had a classes all day yesterday, but you weren't in any of them." Fine explained.

"Yes, I was. No, I - yes. No, we talked. I know" Clark stuttered back.

Fine stayed composed. " Look, Clark, I got a faculty meeting right now, but why don't you wait for me in my office, and I'll make an excuse - I'll be right back. Clark, whatever is happening, we're in this together.

Lois has listened in to everything. She hated seeing Clark being made to feel that he was going mad, but she knew she could not intervene. She needed to sit back and keep an eye on things.

Fine headed back into class.

Clark turned to Lois, and hugged her again. "I feel like I am going mad, and I don't know what to do about it."

"Clark, I am not letting you out of my sight. I think there is something more to this than meets the eye." She replied without giving too much away.

He looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"We're friends, Smallville, and friends look out for each other." She said, as she punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Are you going to wait in his office?"

"No, I think we should head back to Smallville and see if we can find out what is going on." He took her hand again.

"So, why would your professor lie about talking to you?" she asked, as they drove home.

"I don't know. You don't believe me?" He inquired again.

"Clark, I swear I believe you 100%. Did you see the way, Fine kept looking across at me, as though he did not want me there?"

"I think he is probably worried about you hearing. Fine and I have been working together for a few months to try and expose Luthorcorp."

"Why does he have anything against Luthorcorp?" Lois asked curiously

"He has never said, and to be honest I have never asked. Bringing down the Luthor's would not be a bad thing. I hate everything they stand for." There was anger in his voice.

"That is not you talking! I want to bring down Lionel too, after what he did to Chloe, but for some reason I do not trust Fine. " Lois announced hoping that she was not pushing Clark too far.

"He just seems to understand me, Lois. He has the same goals as me." He explained.

"Well, let's agree to differ and not say anything more about it. Can we stop for some lunch?" She asked as the sound of the her stomach growling filled the car. "There is a café just down the road. Maybe they do maple donuts."

Clark sat watching Lois eat her maple donut as she waited for her burger and fries. "Why do you eat dessert before the main course?"

"Because I do." She smiled back, her chin covered in maple syrup.

"That's a good enough reason, I suppose."

"So, Smallville. What is our plan of action when we get back? Do you want me to smooth the path for you and Chloe to make up."

His face changed. "No, I don't trust her. When I was at the Daily Planet, she was getting emails about me from Lionel."

Lois was surprised. "How did you know they were about you? Did they have 'Clark Kent' on the subject line."

"No, but it said something about there being no secrets."

"So how do you think that is about you?"

He became defensive. "I just know okay, and can we talk about something else."

"Okay, no problems. What shall we talk about?"

Lois looked at him, and unexpectedly felt her stomach doing somersaults. It was as though her feelings for him had started to come to the surface. Even she had to admit that she had always had a soft spot for him otherwise she would not have spent so much time annoying him. To add to this, Clark had a body to die for and often made a point of hanging around the barn when he had his top off.

She was still having trouble working out how her sudden crush on Clark would lead them to become soul mates. Maybe Jor-el had made that up to convince her to help. She decided to just see how things progressed…


	4. Chapter 4

Clark broke the new formed ice between them. "How did your time in Washington DC go?"

"It was great to catch up with Lucy and my father in one place, and they did not even have a fight."

"Why did you flee town?" Clark asked.

"I think it was the kidnapping and to be honest I felt awkward around you." She replied honestly.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because of what happened at the club. I was embarrassed." She felt herself starting to do red.

He could see her embarrassment. "Why? You were quite professional."

She looked at him. "What are you suggesting? Anyway lap dancing you was not exactly the easiest thing to do. You looked petrified. I take it you have never had one before." Lois was finding herself starting to enjoy where this flirtatious exchange was heading.

"A lapdance?" Now Clark was blushing. "No I have never had one."

"Well you should ask Lana for one." Lois said without thinking.

"I couldn't do that!" he replied with a horrified look on his face.

Lois gave him a strange look. "She is your girlfriend, why can't you ask her?"

"What is it with you and her? Why this obsession with sex? She never stops going on about it." Clark realised he had said too much.

Lois paused for a second.

"Sorry, Lois. You did not need to hear that outburst. Lana and I are just going through a rough patch."

Lois could not help herself. "It's ok. It is actually refreshing to hear a guy who is not obsessed with sex. Mind you, Lana does not look like the sex-crazed girlfriend type."  
"Well, shows you can never judge a book by its cover." Clark said, wondering why he felt comfortable discussing this with Lois.

"Most men would not complain." Lois said, wondering if his reason for shying away from an intimate relationship with Lana was due to an anatomical difference. But, after their meeting in the cornfield, she could not remember seeing any differences. She was getting hot and bothered just thinking about it. "So have you and Lana never…."

"I have not got a clue why I am telling you this, but no we have not." He admitted.

"You will know when the time is right." She replied, as their meals arrived.

They both ate their lunch before heading out to the car. Clark was being chivalrous, and opened the door to the car. As she turned towards him, he noticed some ketchup on the side of her mouth.

"You have ketchup there." He said as he pointed.

"Are you going to get it off for me?" she said playfully and waited.

He suddenly tensed up, and reached into his pocket for a napkin. "Here you go…" he gave it to her, and then went around the passenger side and climbed in.

Lois wiped her mouth and drove off, wondering what had caused that reaction. They eventually pulled up at the farm, and Lois was determined to keep an eye on him. However her hopes were dashed when she noticed a familiar car parked up.

"Lana is here." She said, and was shocked to see Clark's expression of dread.

"Don't look so happy!" she continued. "Just tell her you are not putting out for her any time soon."

She was unsure what his reaction would be, but he just grinned. "I will put my foot down. Lois, thank you for being with me today. It meant a lot."

She looked across and their eyes locked. For what seemed like an eternity, there was silence and a growing intensity between them. Suddenly, their moment was shattered.

"Clark, where have you been?" Lana shouted from the veranda.

Clark rolled his eyes at Lois. "Later…" he announced, leaving Lois in anticipation for what he meant.

"You have no right to worry me like that. First you storm off, and then you crash the truck… what got into you yesterday? Do you ever worry about anyone but yourself?"

Lois felt her blood pressure rising. There was no concern in Lana's voice. Clark hunched his shoulders as he did whenever Lana was not happy, as if he was going to concede the point to her. He seriously needed to get some backbone.

Clark followed his girlfriend into the barn. Lois knew she shouldn't but she zeroed her hearing on what was being said.

"So, what have you got to say for yourself? I'm waiting!" Lana stomped around the loft.

"I am sorry for worrying you but I had some things to take care of at university."  
"Like what?" she demanded to know.

"It was just something about my end of term paper." He lied.

"Why did you crash the car yesterday?" but she did not give him a chance to answer. "No doubt, you weren't concentrating. You have been somewhere else for weeks. You need to concentrate on what is important to you, otherwise you will end up losing me."

"Lana, there are other things in life." He fought back, much to Lois's enjoyment. "You spend most of you time obsessed with astronomy; in fact I think Lex sees you more than I do."

"Is this about Lex? He told me that you were investigating him with one of your university professors. You are the one who is obsessed. At least Lex does not keep secrets from me?"

"I have had enough. We are over…" Clark announced decisively.

Lana smiled. "Look, I will be waiting at the Met U when you decide to get over your little infantile crisis and you decide to come grovelling to get back with me.

Lois smirked quietly to herself, as she sat in the farm kitchen listening to Clark finally stand up to Lana being over-dramatic as usual.

Clark had still not reappeared when Lois heard Martha say to Jonathan. "Lana left ages ago. Shall I go and talk to him?"

Before Jonathan had a chance to respond, Lois jumped off her seat. "Let me go, Mrs K. I will tell it to him straight." She said in her usual bolshie attitude.

Martha smiled. "Lois, I don't know how you manage it but you also seem to stop Clark from moping."

"I just annoy him so much, he forgets all about the trials and tribulations of his on-off relationship with Lana." Lois smiled as she walked out the door.

Clark was throwing his ball against the loft wall, something he did when he was upset or thinking deeply.

"Smallville, do you want company?" she said, expecting the rebuff that was usually offered by Clark when he was in this mood.

"Ok, that will be nice." He smiled at her.

She took a seat on sofa next to his shoulder. "So what is so interesting in here to make you stay in here for hours?" she inquired as if she didn't know.

"It's nothing really." He muttered back, as he threw the ball again.

"Ok then." She replied. "It is almost tea time. Shall I tell your mom that you won't be joining us."

"Ok." He said as if he was not listening to her. "I broke up with her." He said, going off on a tangent.

Lois tried to act surprised. "Who with?"

"With Rachel, that hot cheerleader from uni. Who do you think?" he replied sarcastically.

"Ok, sorry. You mean you broke up with the pink princess."

Suddenly and without warning, he turned with such a look of annoyance on his face. "Don't you ever call her that? She is called Lana and I may have just lost the one thing that matters in my life." He said.

Lois took evasive action convinced that this mood swing was a result of his silver meteor rock infection. "Look Clark! You told me about your breakup, so I would appreciate if you don't snap my head off. I will not bother you anymore." She got up calmly and walked off downstairs.

Before she could get halfway she felt a hand grab hers and pulled her around stopping her in his tracks. Clark spun her to face him. "I am sorry, Lois. You are the one person I need in my life at the moment. Please don't leave me."

Lois could see the despair in his eyes, as if he was frightened by his loss of control and his inability to work out what was going on in his life.

Lois smiled and allowed him to walk her back up the stairs. She sat down. "I forgive you, Clark. I think you are just under a lot of pressure at the moment."

He sat down next to her never letting go off her hand.

"So what can I do to help?" she asked, as he gave her that look with his gorgeous eyes.  
"Just stay with me, help me work out what is happening to me." He hugged her tightly, just like he had earlier that day.

She held him. "I promise I will not let you out of my sight until we find out what is going on."

He pulled back, showing his eyes, glistening from the rogue tears that were rolling down his face. "You are amazing." He replied, breathing deeply.

Lois noticed his face was moving towards her, slowly but visibly. She froze panicking at what was going to happen if she let it. She reacted in the only way she could, and pulled back, sitting as bolt upright as possible.

She playfully punched him gently on his arm. "You had better not say that too often otherwise I may begin to believe it." She joked, trying to distract him.

He was not giving up that easily. "I meant it, Lois…you are amazing, selfless and beautiful." He whispered, as he started to move towards her again.

"Clark, I think you are mistaking my offer of help for something else. " She said with determination. "Let's not ruin our friendship by taking this any further."

Clark snapped out of his trance. "I was only kidding, Lois. Anyway don't you think you are going too far. How can it ruin our friendship when we are not even friends?" He smirked.

Lois smiled, but could not help wonder why she had regretted stopping Clark from continuing. All of the talk from Jor-el was putting some crazy ideas in her head. She did believe that her and Clark were meant to be in the future but was having problems reconciling how they would go from playful bantering partners to devoted soul-mates. What worried her was the fact her feelings and attraction to Clark were growing stronger by the second and she did not know if she could refuse his advances if he was to come on to he again.

"Look why don't we go for some dinner." She smiled and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the barn.

As they walked over the barn, they noticed Lionel Luthor was talking with Jonathan before he shook hands, gave Jonathan an envelope and climbed into his black limo.

"Son of a *****." Clark said as he quickly followed his dad into the farmhouse.

" Where is it?" he shouted at his father as he entered into the kitchen, and proceeded to rip the envelope out of his hands.

Martha and Lois both screamed at him. "Clark…stop it!"

Clark pulled some documents out of the envelope and looked at them. "See? He got this from Lionel Luthor. He's helping him put me in the lab!"

Jonathan tried to see his son see sense. "Clark, Lionel stopped by to talk about the campaign. Sure, he brought me Lex's balance sheet so I could see what I was up against."

" What about the money?" Clark demanded to know.

"What? What money?"

Clark held up the papers. "This money! Why are you doing this to me, Dad? Why you doing this? Tell me the truth or you will regret it."

Lois was taken aback by the fury and venom in Clark's voice and she was becoming increasingly concerned by his aggressive behaviour. If she had to protect the Kent's from him, she would.

But then Chloe walked in the kitchen. "I heard the shouting outside. Is everything ok?" she asked in concern before she had a chance to take in the scene.

Clark looked at Chloe. "So you are all in on this? You are all going to pay for this" He sneered and walked calmly out of the house as though nothing had happened.


	5. Chapter 5

The scene left behind by Clark was three people shooting uncomfortable glances at each other. It was obvious that Chloe knew about his secret.

The looks continued for a few moments until Martha took a deep breath and turned to Lois. "Lois, I am so sorry you had to witness that. Sit down and we will tell you what we think is happening."

Lois was surprised; the last thing she expected from full disclosure from the Kents about their son's amazing gifts and origins. She took a seat next to Martha.

"Ok…" Lois said, signalling for Martha to continue.

"Lois, we think Clark is on drugs. We tried to convince ourselves that he would never touch them, but as you can see with the paranoia and the hallucination, it seems likely. We are doing everything to help him."

Jonathan looked relieved that Martha had managed to come up with a plausible explanation for their son's behaviour. "In the meantime, you need to stay away from him. He is dangerous." There was devastation on his father's face at those words, as if the realisation had just hit home about Clark's unpredictability.

"I want to help." Lois announced.

Chloe sat down. "Lois, we can handle this. You need to stay out of this one for your own safety. I don't think you will be in danger; it is probably Lana who is at risk. I think we are going to have to see her and tell her."

Lois looked shock. "If you go to Lana with this, Lex will have Clark arrested before you can leave the Mansion."

Martha looked at Lois. "Chloe, I think Lois is right. I think we need to come up with a plan. I will try his cell, maybe he has left it on and we might be able to talk him into coming home."

"Look if you don't mind, I will leave you to it. I am going to head over to the Talon as I have a date If you find out anything or need me back, please let me know." Lois tried not to sound too suspicious.

Lois climbed in the car and waited. She knew this was her perfect opportunity. She zeroed in on the signal, and waited for Clark's cell to ring, which it did for a few seconds before the line went dead.

She sped over to the location of the ring but kept her distance so he did not spot her. He was there, sitting on the edge of the jetty at Crater Lake. She sped back to the car at the Kent Farm and drove up to the lake.

Thirty minutes later she pulled up in the car park. It was pitch black but the moon and the reflection on the water allowed her to make out his silhouette.

She approached him, waiting for him to turn around, but he did not. "Lois, please go away. I am not the best company at the moment."

She did not speak and just sat down next to him, her legs dangling over the edge.

"Lois, I am not control of my actions at the moment and you could be in danger."

"Don't tell me you turn green and rip your plaid shirt when you get angty." She joked, taking a risk by trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Lois, please. My head is all over the place and I am starting to feel as though I am going crazy and losing control."

"Clark, I am not leaving. I cannot stand to see you like this. I promised I would help you and I will not leave you now. You are stuck with me."

He placed his hand on hers and squeezed it, "How did you know I was here."

"Chloe told me that this was one of thinking places when you had a fight with Lana."

"How did you get here?" Lois asked, even though she knew.

"Bob from the gas station gave me a lift!" he replied.

"Oh right! I thought you may have run here." Her heart started to race, but something told her this was the right thing to do. After all she had a plan and needed to do this for it to work.

His face froze as he turned to her. "Ran… what do you mean?"

"Clark, I know there is something going on with you. Too many strange things happened over the past months, and along with all of the hushed silences between you and your parents as I entered the room. "

"Lois, you are imagining things."

"So did I imagine you disappearing right in front of my eyes the other day? I was coming out of the house, and noticed you coming out of the barn, next second you were gone. Are you meteor infected?" she asked, hoping he could not notice the fact she was lying.

He paused for a second taking in her face.

"You don't have to tell me, Clark." She said.

He turned around looking towards the lake. "What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing, tell me when you are ready. But, just know, whatever the truth is, would not change the way I feel about you." She announced with such sincerity.

That admission made him turn to her, and without warning he placed his hand under her chin, then brought his lips to hers.

Lois was about to take evasive action, but he caught her off guard, and once she felt the softness of his lips on hers, there was nothing much she could have done about it anyway.

She felt him releasing the pressure between them, but wanted more, so she pressed her lips against his forcefully leaving him in no doubt that she wanted this experience to continue. Clark's hand was now intertwined in her hair, pulling her slightly to him to allow him better access to her mouth.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by headlights in the distance. Lois zeroed in on her vision and realised it was Chloe's car.

"It's Chloe." Clark moaned, as he grabbed Lois and sped them off into the woods so they would not be spotted…

Lois did not even have a chance to process what had just happened; all that mattered was to protect Clark. He had just put her down in a small clearing at the other side of Crater Lake.

"Clark, take me back to the car park, but don't let Chloe see you." She ordered, not realising she was giving him the wrong idea with her abruptness.

He looked at her with a sad and uncertain look in his eyes. "I am sorry, Lo. I did not mean to frighten you with the kiss or my secret. I would never do that."

Lois wanted to explain that she would have loved nothing more than to continue their exchange but she did not have time. Her plan was unfurling in her head and she needed to put it into action. "Can we talk later, just drop me in the woods next to her. Wait at the other side of lake for me and please trust me." She smiled.

He smiled and scooped her up and seconds later she was standing less than 20 meters from Chloe. She turned around to see Clark speeding off into the distance.

"What are you doing here?" Lois asked in surprise.

Chloe turned to see her cousin appearing from the darkness. "Don't give me a heart attack!" she exclaimed. "I might ask you the same thing. I think you must have missed the Talon, it is a mile back on the left." She joked. "so why are you up here at this time of night?"

"I just felt like some fresh air." She smiled, trying to sound convincing.

"Lois, what are you hiding from me? Why didn't you tell me that you have a boyfriend?" Chloe asked her.

"I don't need to tell you everything." Lois snapped, albeit deliberately.

Chloe looked at her in disbelief. "I don't expect you to tell you everything, but I tell you about my boyfriends and stuff. I mean I even told you about my feelings for Clark…"

Lois felt a pang of guilt for goading Chloe but everything was going to plan. "I can't tell you. It is complicated."

"How complicated can it be?"

"Very complicated and I don't want anyone to get hurt." Lois said with sincerity.

Chloe just glared at her. "Oh my god… he is married isn't he?"

Lois did not deny it. "just leave it, Chlo. "

Chloe would not give up. "You were meeting him here, weren't you? Making sure his wife wouldn't see you, were you?" There was anger in her voice and Lois could hear it.

"Chloe, it's not like that! He and his wife are living separate lives. His marriage is over."

"And you fell for that classic. I gave you more credit. Are there children?" Chloe probed further.

Lois wondered whether she should go for maximum effect. "It doesn't matter."

"How many?"

"Two." Lois said, putting her head down with guilt.

"How old?"

"Five and Ten." She said the first numbers that has come into her head and then wished she hadn't. The damage had already been done.

Lois could see tears in Chloe's eyes. "I am sorry, Chloe. It just happened."

The tears were pouring down her face. "Do you know what it is like to walk in on your arguing parents when you are five and find out your mom is leaving to go off with another man?"

"No, I cannot imagine. " Lois defended herself. "But I have fallen for him… hard."

"My father is still not over it. In fact it has took ten years to even talk about my mom and look where she ended up – a mental hospital. I promise you will destroy these children's lives as well as your own. Don't do it to them."

"Chloe, please let this drop. This is different! I am not your mom. "

"No you are not but you WERE my cousin." Chloe said with emphasis. "I don't want to talk to you again until you see sense and stop the senseless wrecking of other people's lives."

"Chloe…, please wait." Lois shouted as her cousin marched off to her car and drove off.

Seconds later, Lois felt a breeze appearing from behind her. Clark looked at her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really. I have messed up… big time."

He touched her check with his hand, wiping away the few rogue tears that were streaking down her face. "You can't help who you fall for." He said with a hint of confusion in his voice. "I am sorry I kissed you… I did not realise you were seeing someone. You must have strong feelings for him to risk so much."

"You don't realise who he is, do you?" she said with feeling as she started to move her lips towards his. "It's you…. it always will be…" she whispered gently.

Clark realised what she was implying and claimed her lips with his… For the next few moments their tongues met in a frenzy of desire, continuously craving more.

When they finally managed to pull themselves away from each other, Lois grabbed Clark's hand. "Clark, will you come back to the farm with me."

"I can't…. My parents do not trust me, and to be honest, I do not trust myself. I cannot risk hurting them or anyone else for that matter. I only feel safe when I am with you."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "I will stay with you. I promise. I will not let you hurt anyone. Something is happening with you and we need to find out what it is… together."

Clark kissed her gently. "Ok…" He allowed her to lead him into her car, as they set off back to the farm…


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N : For some reason, I have written this story completely from Lois's POV. I am not sure why. I will be now writing it from other character's POV as well._

"I know this is hard news to take in, but I think it was better that I came to tell you before the university authorities find out. You must appreciate that I am in an awkward position and I will need to tell the Dean in a few days, but I wanted to give you some warning." Professor Fine explained.

Jonathan and Martha were horrified. Clark's behaviour was not only being threatening to his family, but he was also putting others at risk. "What will happen once you report it?" she asked.

"There will have to be an investigation. Clark will be suspended and if there is found to be any truth in the allegation, he will be expelled and the police will have to be notified." Fine announced.

"We have never known Clark to act this way." Jonathan defended his son. "But we understand why you have to act."

Fine got up from the table. "I need to go and prep for tomorrow's lecture. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. When Clark comes home, be careful with what you tell him, as I think you will discover he is very unpredictable."

Jonathan shook Fine's hand. "We really appreciate you sticking your neck out for Clark like this. We will get him help so he can deal with his punishment."

Fine stopped as he approached the door. "Do you know anyone called Joel? I have heard Clark talking to someone called Joel, maybe he is a drug dealer or something."

Martha shot a look at Jonathan. "No, we don't know that name." she replied.

Once the Professor had drove off, Jonathan turned to Martha, his face red with rage. "Jor-el is not going to get away with this any longer. All he has done is inflict pain on our son. We need to get Clark away from his influence so he can be proved innocent." He grabbed his coat.  
"I am going to the Fortress to speak to Jor-el." He snapped.

"But Jonathan! Look what happened last time. You barely came out alive." Martha pleaded with him to listen.

Jonathan was just about to grab his coat but the phone rang. Martha picked it up.

She heard Lois's voice. "Martha, I am my way home with Clark. I found him wandering along the road."

Lois looked at Clark who was listening in. He could hear the panic in his mom's voice. "Is he ok? Are you ok?"

"We are both fine!" Lois tried to sound chirpy. "See you in about 30 mins."

Clark looked sad as they pulled away from the car park at Crater Lake. "My own parents are terrified of me. How do I convince them I am fine?"

"But Clark, you are not fine… Even you admit that there is something wrong with you. Let's start by asking the obvious. Can you normally run at the speed of sound?" Lois asked.

"No actually I can usually run much quicker." He joked before taking a deep breath. " I have numerous powers such as speed, x-ray vision, superhearing and I am almost invulnerable."

"Where do your powers come from? You must have been infected by the meteor shower…. right?"

Clark smiled at her and answered as though he was telling her the most obvious things in the world. "I came down with the meteor shower."

Lois tried to look shocked. "You mean you are from outer space. I thought that was only in the movies."

"Yes, I am an alien. I come from a planet called Krypton…" Clark went onto tell her everything. Lois did not even need to act because even though she had heard this from Jor-el, it was fascinating to hear it from Clark's point of view.

Lois grabbed his hand as she drove. "It's ok. It does not change how I feel about you."

"How do you feel about me?" Clark asked nervously.

She looked back and him. "Let me show you!" She replied with a mischievous smile as she stopped the car, and climbed on his lap.

Within seconds, their mouths were devouring each other. Lois could not get enough of Clark and her initial disbelief at being his supposed soul mate was diminishing by each second.

They were soon disturbed by some headlights shining through the now misted up windows. The car pulled up in the near distance and someone got out.

"Can you see who it is?" she asked him as she climbed off his lap and adjusted her clothes.

"It is Chloe! Geez this is all we need." Clark moaned.

"Stay here! I will get rid of her. " Lois ordered as she got out of the car. "Can you keep the windows misted up somehow so she does not see you?"

Clark nodded and blew some cold air onto the windows to make sure they remained iced up.

"What are you doing out here?" Lois asked in a calm voice.

"Well I was looking for Clark, but instead I came across this gross re-enactment of an adult movie. I never thought I would say this but you disgust me, Lois. Nothing like parading your affair! Could you not at least book a seedy hotel? Who is he?"

"Chloe, please leave before we both say something we regret. I am over 18 so I can make my own choices in life. I will not tell you who he is because you will have it all over the papers before morning."

Suddenly Lois felt a slap across her face, not that it hurt, it was more the shock that Chloe had hit her. "Stay out of my life. I never want to lay eyes on you again."

Chloe walked away and drove off. Lois was shaking with shock. She went to the car. "Lois, you don't need to destroy your relationship with Chloe for me. Just tell her the truth."

"I can't Clark. It may come to a point in the next few days where you need to leave Smallville, and I will be with leaving with you until we work out how to make you better. I need a cover. If your parents or Chloe think for one minute I am with you, they may think I am in danger and act. I have come to realise in the past few days that you mean more to me than anything. I would die to protect you. I love you…" she had more tears falling down her face after realising that she meant every word.

He offered a smile as he hugged her tightly, before whispering in her ear. "I love you too…"

As Lois looked across at Clark as they approached the Kent Farm, she felt a pang of guilt about lying to Clark but at the same time, she felt butterflies in her stomach at the admission of love from him. Jor-el had already told her what had infected Clark and she knew that the effects of the poison would not peak for another day or two before they started to wear off. She needed to protect Clark and even more importantly ensure no one was hurt in the process.

"Here we go!" she said as she climbed out of the car.

Clark followed her towards the farmhouse door. She entered first, and as she did, she noticed a very anxious looking Martha getting out of her seat and walking towards them.

"Thank god! Clark, are you ok? We were so worried." Martha hugged her son tightly.

Jonathan came and hugged his son too. "We're here for you."

Lois smiled. "Look I think I will leave you to it. I am beat." She saw her chance as she saw a pile of clothes on the sofa. "Martha, I will take my washing upstairs." She shot a look at Clark.

Lois started to struggle as she picked it up.

"You're going to drop them. I will help you." He acted reluctant and then went over to take them out of her hands.

Once in the bedroom, Lois pushed Clark onto the bed and climbed on top of him. He sat up and met her lips with his with a frenzied passion.

Minutes later, she climbed off. "You had better go down to your parents before think there is something going on."

"I think that is for the best otherwise we may end up doing something we shouldn't." Clark moaned. "See you in the morning."

Clark went downstairs to face the firing squad of his parents. His mom gestured for him to take a seat at the table. "We need to keep this down in case Lois hears."

"How are you feeling?" Jonathan started.

"I should be asking you that. I am so sorry!" Clark replied. "I feel like my life is out of control and I cannot stop myself when I get mad. I am obviously hallucinating."

"Is it Red K?" Martha asked.

"No, it can't be. I am only having episodes at the moment, but it feels as though the episodes are getting worse and longer."

"Have you had any contact with Jor-el?" his father asked.

"No, I haven't. I would tell you if I had."

"Clark, we have another problem. Professor Fine arrived here and told us that he thinks you are taking drugs and that he is going to have to report you in a few days to the police." Martha said.

Clark's face went white. "So I could be arrested."

"Only if the allegations are proved to be true." His father added.

"But, dad… they will try to take a blood sample to prove my guilt. I think we might have problems explaining why they can't penetrate my skin with the needle. This is all spiralling out of control."

"We will sort it out." Jonathan gave a supportive smile but then made the mistake of looking across at his wife with a slight look of concern.

Suddenly Clark lifted his arm in the air, before bringing it down. The table instantly split into two. "Even you do not believe in me. Why have you given up on me? I am your son."

Lois ran down stairs at sound of the table collapsing. Clark panicked and realised what he had done. He looked at Lois and saw the looks of horror on his parent's face.

"Lois, please leave." Jonathan ordered.

"What has happened?" Lois asked.

"Lois… leave now. Go and stay with Chloe for the night." Jonathan shouted. "We will sort this out. It's family business."

Even though Lois knew he did not mean it, the last comment hurt as she did feel part of the family. She knew there was no way she was going to be able to stay with Chloe, so she decided to head a few miles outside Smallville because luckily her father had an account with the Grand Hotel Chain which she could use anytime she wanted.

As soon as Lois had left, Martha distracted Clark whilst Jonathan grabbed the lead box and took out the meteor. Clark immediately doubled up in pain and sank to the floor, clutching his stomach.

Chloe burst in. "What is going on? I heard screams." She looked down and saw Clark writhing around the floor.

Jonathan and Martha put the rock back into the lead box whilst Chloe dropped to the floor next to Clark.

"Why were you using green meteor rock against him? Will he be ok?"

"He should come round in a few moments. I hate to say this but I am scared of what he could do." Jonathan explained.

"But what has caused this?"

"We don't know, but we think it may have something to do with his Kryptonian father. There has been nothing but trouble since he made himself known to Clark." Jonathan explained. "The question is what do we do about it?"

There was a groan from Clark as he staggered to his feet. "What happened?" He looked at the table and remembered what he had done.

He noticed his mom going for the lead box. "Mom, I am fine. I won't hurt you." He said.

Martha could see the look of confusion and fear on her son's face. He looked so on edge as though he could easily tip over it again.

He could not bear to look at it the sheer terror on his parents face any longer. He sped off into the night.

Lois had just shut her room door after checking in when there was a knock. She opened it immediately to see the pathetic looking figure of Clark standing there with such a look of devastation on his face.

"Can I stay here with you? Everyone else is terrified of me." There were tears appearing in his eyes.

She did not speak, just grabbed his hand and shut the door. Once inside, she gently placed her hand around the back of his neck before pulling him into a kiss. Without breaking the kiss she slowly moved backwards towards the bed…


	7. Chapter 7

The feeling was definitely familiar. She felt dizzy and the bed seemed to disappear beneath her. She opened her eyes, and realised she was back in the ice palace.

"Jor-el, why am I back here?"

"There are things you need to know." Jor-el's voice boomed out.

"But what if Clark wakes up?"

"This time is different." Jor-el explained. "You are not here physically, only your consciousness is here. If Kal-el wakes up he will think you are still there."

Lois gulped and began to wonder if Jor-el had been watching them all this time. The thought made her feel uneasy especially if he had been watching for the past few hours. "Have you been watching me all the time?"

"No, Miss Lane. I just have an overall sense of what is going on."

"Thank god for that! " she breathed a sigh of relief.

The Brainiac situation is graver than I thought. We need to proceed carefully or the Fortress and any hope of my son becoming Earth's saviour will be banished forever."

"I am doing all I can." Lois defended her actions. "What else can I do?"

"You have made excellent progress in gaining my son's trust and protecting those humans he cares about from harm. It is important that Kal-el does not discover Brainiac's threat to humanity until after the poison has left his system, otherwise Kal-el will try to defeat him but will not succeed. He must be fully powered to take on the Brain Interactive Construct."

"Could I help to fight Brainiac?" she asked.

"No… you must not. Your powers are purely for defensive purposes. Whilst your powers are equal to those of Kal-el, you have not possessed them long enough for you to have mastered them to use to defeat him." Suddenly, Lois saw a flash of light pass her eyes.

The light stopped about 5 meters away from her and she could now make out the form of a man.

"This is John Jones. He was one of my closest advisors before Krypton was destroyed." Jor-el explained.

John walked towards Lois and extended his hand. "It is a pleasure, Ms Lane."

"So you are a Krytonian?" She asked as she shook his hand.

"No I am from Mars, so what you would call a martian." He smiled.

"I always thought men from Mars would be green reptilian creatures, no offence." She realised how rude that sounded. "I am sorry but I tend to speak before I think."

Suddenly John morphed into a tall green creature with red eyes, although he still resembled a humanoid. "So you were partially right." He laughed as he transformed back into his human form.

Lois managed to laugh. "So how do you fit into this plan?"

"Professor Fine approached Martha and Jonathan Kent yesterday and told them that he suspected Clark of taking drugs. He stated that he would have to inform the authorities within a few days. Anyway that is where I fit in. " He reached into his pocket and pulled out an ID.

Lois looked at it. "A detective in Met PD…" she announced.

" Fine will obviously not report the matter to the police but I am going to approach the Kents and tell them that I have been assigned to the case. I will try to ensure the Kents come to no harm whilst Clark is away." John explained.

"Ok, I will not let anyone find out where Clark is." She replied. "I will be back at the Kent Farm in the morning, once I have made sure he is safe."

"I will visit in the morning." John stated, as he flew off.

"Lois, please take care of my son." Jor-el announced, and if Lois did not know he was a computer she would have sworn there was emotion in his voice.

Next thing she knew she was back in the body, cuddled up to Clark's bare chest. She looked up at him. He looked so peaceful. Soon she was asleep…

Early next morning, Lois felt Clark move. He looked down at her and smiled. "Hello… you!" he said as he kissed her forehead tenderly. "How are you this morning?"

"Can I be honest?" She said seriously, watching his face change. "Desperate for a repeat performance of last night!" She smiled as she rolled over on top of him.

"So what is the plan?" he asked her, as they lay up cuddled in bed an hour later.

Lois started interwining her hand with his as she began to explain her plan. "The affair I have fabricated is a perfect excuse to explain why I am staying in a hotel. If anyone comes you can speed off. I need to head back to the Kent Farm to see your parents and I am going to try and smooth things over with Chloe. I basically need to act as I normally would so I don't make anyone suspicious. I will be back by lunchtime."

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked.

" I know this great place in Florence." She announced hopefully. "My dad took me there once on holiday when he was stationed in Berlin for a year. I think it is still there."

"You want me to take you to Florence for pizza." He asked.

"Not if you don't want to. I just thought we could have an adventure whilst you are on the run."

"It is so strange, Lois. I never feel as though I am going to lose it with you. You calm me down and ground me. I cannot explain it but I feel safe when you are around. So Florence, it is…" He said gently.

"Ok, if you will release me from your clutches, I will have a quick shower and head off to the Farm. By the way, have I ever told you how I have trouble washing my back?"

"No, you haven't." as he followed her to the bathroom with a mischievous hated to leave Clark at the hotel but she had no choice. She had to continue as normal so not to arouse suspicions. The first place to visit was the Kent Farm.

She pulled up the driveway and parked up in the usual place. Everything seemed quiet, so she wandered into the farmhouse. This time she knocked in case the Kents were in the middle of one of their usual top secret discussion which always stopped the moment she walked into the room.

She saw Martha cooking. "Is it safe?" Lois said quietly, trying to attract her attention.

Martha turned around and went up and hugged her. "Lois, it is good to see you. We were starting to worry about you. When I spoke to Chloe this morning, she said that you did not come back to the Talon. Where did you go?"

"I stayed in a hotel out of town. No doubt, Chloe has told you that we have had a major fall-out."

Martha looked at her. "No, she didn't say what the problem was, although it was very obvious that something was going on."

"We just had a disagreement, nothing for the front page. So is everything ok? Where is Clark?" Lois looked concerned.

"As you will have seen last night, it is obvious that Clark does have a drug problem and his university professor has told us about his suspicions. Well, it looks like the police will be getting involved in the next few days, so we have taken the initiative. Jonathan took Clark to a rehab centre in Eastern Kansas this morning and he will stay there until he has the problem under control."

Lois had to play along. "Did he admit he had a problem?"

"Not in so many words but he agreed to go willingly to the centre. I am sorry that you had to see what happened last night."

"Martha, it is not your fault and you are the most amazing parents that Clark could possibly have. If anyone can help Clark through this, you and Jonathan can. I wish you were my parents.." Lois commented.

Martha started to tear up. "I wish you were our daughter. You are one of the most caring and loyal people I have ever met, Lois. You will always be welcome here."

However sincere Martha tried to sound about Clark's absence it was obvious that she was hiding the truth. She was clearly worried about the present instability of her son, but she knew she had to clamp up and protect Clark's secret.

"So would you like to talk about your problems with Chloe." Martha asked as she poured them both a cup of tea and took a seat at the table.

"It's nothing really… just a bit of a disagreement about men." Lois explained.

"Is this about your new boyfriend? I never had any idea you were seeing someone." Martha smiled.

"It is very early on but I am just enjoying myself at the moment." Lois replied. "I think we are just seeing where we end up."

"So what is Chloe's problem?"

"Don't flame me but he is married with children, although his marriage is all but over. Chloe thinks I am an idiot for believing him. I think it hit a raw nerve due to the fact her mom had an affair. I cannot help who I fall for." She could see the disappointment on Martha's face. "I can see you are not happy about this either, are you?"

"Oh sweetheart! I would not normally comment but I am surprised that you would embark on an affair, but you are right that you cannot help who you fall for. "

Lois felt so guilty. She did not really blame Martha and Chloe for having this negative view of her 'imaginary' relationship, but Lois had to choice; she had to make her story extreme to give her a reason for keeping details of her relationship a secret. She wondered for a moment what their reaction would be if they knew it was Clark. Chloe would be jealous and Martha would probably support Jonathan in reading the riot act that they were too young to be this serious.

"I cannot give him up. I am in love with him." Lois declared.

Martha placed her hand on Lois's. "I don't want to put a dampener on your relationship, but can you be sure that his marriage is really over. How often do you hear men using the 'marriage is over' excuse as a way of keeping an affair going?"

"Martha, I know he loves me and I will just have to see how things go."

Just then, Jonathan walked in with a familiar figure. "Martha, this is Detective Jones of the Metropolis PD. He needs to talk to us about Clark and his possible drug use!"

Martha jumped up.

John smiled. "Please take a seat, Mrs Kent. I just need talk to Clark."

"You can't Detective, he is at a rehab facility."

"Which one?" John asked.

"I would rather not say, as I do not want him to be disturbed. He is getting the treatment he needs and I do not want the chances of his recovery to be dashed. Of course, we will cooperate with you if you have an arrest warrant." Jonathan explained.

"No, we are not at that stage yet. I am purely here to see what I can find out after an allegation was made by a member of staff at Kansas University. The police force has moved away from a punitive approach to drugs over the past few years and we aim to support individuals in overcoming their addiction. I agree that interfering with Clark's therapy would be counter-productive."

"I will leave you to it, as long as you will keep me informed of any discharge plans for Clark, and please do not contact the university about this matter as we are trying to keep it as low key as possible." John explained as he handed them his contact details.

"Thank you, Detective for being so understanding. We will contact you if we have any more information." Martha said.

John turned to Lois. "Are you Lois Lane?" he asked.

She looked puzzled. "yes, why?"

"Is that your car outside?"

"Yes… but why do you want to know?" she asked.

"I recognised the license plate and I need to talk to you and ask what you were doing speeding near Granville last night. Who were you with because one of our patrol officers stated that there was a man driving?" John asked.

Lois looked nervously at Jonathan and Martha. "Can we talk about this in private?"

John walked outside with her and headed over the paddock fence. "Sorry to embarrass you but I need to talk to you."

"What is wrong?" she asked.

"Jor-el is concerned that Brainiac is going to step up his mission. We now believe his plan is to convince Clark that Jor-el is causing his descent into madness. This could cause Clark to take revenge against his father and destroy the Fortress. You have to stop that happening."

Lois smiled and calmly announced. "I will… don't worry."


	8. Chapter 8

Lois took a deep sigh and wished that she was heading back to the hotel rather than straight into the vipers nest. She had wanted to say 'no' but the look of stress on Martha's face told her she had no choice. Lois knew why she was keeping Clark's whereabouts secret for valid reasons, but she could not help but feel a pang of guilt about lying to her 'surrogate' mom.

She pulled up outside the Talon. Chloe had called Martha to ask if she could come in for the lunchtime shift as it was so busy, and apparently her cousin sounded so desperate that Martha had not wanted to refuse. Lois wondered how much of Martha's request for a favour was linked with the intention of trying to repair her and Chloe's relationship.

Lois walked in and saw Chloe through the queue of people leading to the counter. She took a deep breath, and headed towards a counter, taking an apron from the coat rack on the way over.

She made immediate eye contact with a hassled looking Chloe. "Don't say a word. Let's just get on with dealing with this rush."

Chloe greeted that suggestion with a glare but a slight nod to show agreement. "Ok, but this changes nothing between us."

They worked together to clear the rush, managing to stay out of each other's way as much as possible but that was proving difficult in such a confined space. After an hour or so, the lunch time rush seems to have slowed down to the point where Chloe insisted Lois leave.

"You can go. I can manage."

Lois wanted to say something but couldn't. She sighed and started to take off her apron as she saw Professor Fine approaching the counter.

"Ms Sullivan... Ms Lane, can I have a word?" He asked over the counter.

Chloe knew about the conversation Fine had with the Kents regarding his threats to turn Clark into the university authorities and the fact he had subsequently informed the police.

"What about?" Chloe asked as she busied herself with the coffee machine.

"I need to know where Clark Kent is…there is something I need to discuss with him urgently."

Lois panicked. "I don't think this is the appropriate place."

"Is there somewhere more appropriate?" he asked.

Chloe could see he was not going to let matters drop. "Come upstairs." She nodded for Lois to follow her.

The three of them went into the apartment where Chloe told him to take a seat. Lois and Chloe sat opposite him.

"Like I said I need to find him?"

"I think you would be better off seeing the Kents." Chloe offered.

The Professor looked at her with a serious expression. "I do not want to upset them anymore than I need to. Mrs Kent does not look well." He commented.

"She looks like a concerned mom." Chloe answered back. "Her son is going through a rough patch and she is worried."

He is in therapy." Lois piped up. "I think he is getting all of the help he needs there."

"Which therapy?" Fine inquired. " I need to talk to Clark before I call the police. I cannot allow his unpredictable behaviour to continue. I went to my car this morning to find a brick had been put through my window… no doubt because I could not back up his 'fabricated' story. He needs help, Ms Sullivan."

"But you have already called the police. Mrs Kent called me an hour ago to tell me a Met PD detective had been to see her." Chloe added.

Fine's expression changed to one of puzzlement and anger. "I have not called the police and neither has the CKU authorities. In fact I have never even told anyone else at the yet."

"Maybe someone overheard you." Chloe suggested.

"That is impossible. What was the name of this detective?"

"I haven't got a clue. You would need to see Mrs Kent about that. But as Lois told you, Clark is in therapy so he will not hurt anyone. Is there no way you can leave this until we know how he is doing in therapy?" Chloe said nervously, knowing full well that he was still out there and worryingly unpredictable.

"Ms Sullivan… the police will not let this matter lie. I will go and see the Kents. I need to know how this detective found out about Clark." He got up.

Lois panicked. The last thing she needed was Fine digging around at Met PD and working out the truth about John Jones. "It was me…" she blurted out. "I rang the police and reported it to the detective. I could not watch Clark threaten anyone else. He needs help and that is what he is getting. The Detective is happy with this, so I suggest you let it drop."

Fine was not happy but Lois knew she had gained the upper hand, as he left in a hurry. However she knew she would face a fresh barrage from her cousin… The door closed and Lois turned to see the bright red anger on Chloe's face.

"How could you? Do you have any idea? You have ruined Clark's live. The last thing we need is the police sniffing around." She screamed. "And don't bother saying you were doing it to protect the Kent's? You have destroyed their lives… They will never forgive you for this and neither will Clark. Do us all a favour and leave Smallville!"

Lois was shocked by the venom in Chloe's voice; she had never heard her sound this angry. She hated having to do this, and needed to leave. It was turning into such a big mess. "I am so sorry…" Lois burst into tears and ran off….

"Jor-el…." She said out aloud as she sat in her car sobbing.

Seconds later, she was standing in the Fortress. "Lois, we must hurry. Brainiac is closing in on Kal-el and will soon convince him that I am to blame for his psychosis. Without the Fortress, Kal-el will fail on his mission to become Earth's greatest saviour. Go back to my son, and protect him."

Lois took a deep breath and nodded. Seconds later she was back in her car in the alley behind the Talon. She put her head back against the rest, started the car and put her foot down.

Clark was becoming impatient. He was lying on the bed, watching the 180 channels that the Hotel offered, but nothing could keep his mind off what was happening to him. He missed his parents and wanted to go and tell them he was ok. But the truth was, he was far from fine. Every time he tried to close his eyes, he started to have flashbacks of the sheer terror on their faces. His parents had been selfless and had protected him from harm for the past 16 years and how did he repay them.

Suddenly he was snapped out of his thoughts by familiar footsteps. He got up and opened the door. He was greeted by a loving smile. "Lois. I have missed you." He noticed she had been crying. "What happened?"

She shook her head. "I had another row with Chloe. It is just hard to keep lying sometimes." She replied honestly. "But when I see you, it makes me remember why I need to do it. I love you so much."

Clark took her hand and just held her.

After what seemed like ages, he pulled away from her gently. "Look, it's 2pm, so 9pm in Florence. Why don't we grab a pizza like I promised?"

She smiled. "Yeah I would love that. We had better stop off at a bureau de change for some Euros. It might look suspicious if we use our credit cards abroad."

Clark scooped her up and sped her out of hotel. It took about 2 minutes before they arrived in Italy. "That was quick." She smiled, as he placed her down gently in a small back alley. "Pity I got wet from the Atlantic."

He looked down and her jeans were absolutely drenched. "Wait a moment!"

Minutes later he was back with some fresh Levi's. "Where did you get them from?" she asked in amazement.

"I got them from my bedroom, or should I say your bedroom." He smiled.

"I hope your parents didn't see you."

"No, they were both out." He replied.

She quickly changed out of her jeans while Clark was on look out. "Ready…" she announced as he turned around, grabbed her hand and led her towards the town square.

It was a lovely warm night with people buzzing around. "So where is this restaurant?" He asked, as she nuzzled into his arm.

"Just across the River." She looked up and went to point the general direction when suddenly she caught a glimpse of a familiar face smiling at her in the distance.

It was John; Jor-el had obviously told him to keep an eye on them. She noticed out of the corner of her eye, that he had stopped, walked into an alley and seconds later a young Italian man appeared. It did not take her long to realise what had happen when the young man smiled. John had told her about his shape shifting abilities, but she still found it a bizarre talent.

"What is it?" Clark looked down at a preoccupied Lois.

"Nothing, just thinking how romantic it is here?" she replied, trying her best to keep her mind off the man following them. Nothing like having a chaperone when spending time with your new boyfriend, she thought to herself.

"I would be happy anywhere with you." He said as he lent down to kiss her, as they finally reached the restaurant. They took a seat outside.

Lois looked over and saw John taking a seat just a few tables away. Could he not make it any more obvious? She decided to drop a hint.

"This is not very private." She nodded Clark towards the quieter area in the corner. They moved, leaving John in no doubt at Lois's annoyance.

John smiled at her, not realising Clark had noticed the gesture.

"I get the hint." Lois jumped slightly as she heard John's voice in her head. "Don't worry I cannot read your thoughts, but I do have telepathic powers. Just listen… I am here to ensure that Fine is not on to your and Clark's whereabouts. Just ignore me and forget I am here… I would hate to spoil your fun."

Clark noticed Lois's reaction. "Are you ok, Lo?"

"Yeah I am fine. Just caught a draught. So what are you going to have?" she asked.

"I think I will just have the house special pizza. Do you want a bottle of wine, or will I live to regret it?" He winked at her.

"You may do." She giggled. "But what the hell… let's take advantage of the lower age limit?"

An hour later, Lois was being her usual self after a few drinks, although this time it was acting. The alcohol was having no effect on her, but that did not stop her continuously running her hand up Clark's leg under the table. "Are we staying over?" she asked seductively.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" he asked in a seemingly annoyed voice. "Maybe you want to stay here alone, or maybe you could stay over with that guy that keeps staring over at you."

Lois felt her heart pound. "What guy?"

"The one you have been flirting with whilst you thought I was not looking. I can see the way you keep looking at him. Your heart rate has just increased to 140 since I mentioned him, so don't tell me I am imagining it."

Clark got up and turned around to face the man. "Give me a moment and I will deal with this." He had such a wild look in his eyes; the same look he had at the Kent Farm the previous day.

She pulled on his tee shirt. "Clark, leave it."

He pushed her hand away and walked over to John's table. "I do not appreciate you looking at my girlfriend like that."

John replied defensively in his Italian accent. "I am not! I am here to enjoy my meal."

He pulled John out of his chair violently and disappeared into thin air…


	9. Chapter 9

John wondered where Clark was taking him. It did not take long to find out as they landed in some undergrowth in the middle of a valley. Clark dropped him so he ended up as a heap on the ground. He knew he needed to keep up pretence.

"Who are you and what are you going to do to me?" John pleaded to know, pretending to be scared. He could see the intenseness in Clark's eyes.

"I am going to show you that it is bad manners to flirt with someone else's girlfriend." He announced coldly.

"I was not doing it. I had not even noticed your girlfriend. I am a married man. Please don't hurt me."

"But I saw you." Clark suddenly grabbed John's leg and lifted him upside down into the air. "You are going to tell me the truth. Lies tend to make a little crazy, if you know what I mean."

Clark sped up the hill to the edge of a small ravine, holding John over the edge by his leg. John upped his act and screamed hysterically. "Please don't do this. You are going to kill me."

"That is up to you. Tell me the truth."

John decided to change tact. "Ok, I was flirting with your girlfriend, if that is what you want to hear."

Clark stood expressionless for a moment. "Wrong answer!" He let go of John's foot.

John closed his eyes and waited to meet the ground, but then he saw Clark speeding towards him. Clark caught him.

He grabbed John and raced up to the top of the hill again. "You know what… I am tired now and may be too slow next time to catch you."

John noticed an approaching dark figure from the distance. He realised it was Brainiac.

"Clark! You don't want to do that. Trust me." Fine shouted.

" I can't trust anyone any more. You one of Lex's experiments?" Clark replied, totally on edge.

"No. I'm your friend. If you hurt that man, it'll destroy you." Fine tried to reassure him. "Come with me. We need to talk. I'm a Kryptonian. Just like you."

Clark suddenly seemed to snap out of it. "I would not have hurt him." He said in disbelief as he placed the man down gently on the ground.

John reacted as he needed to, and ran away so he could escape from Clark's clutches. He listened in as he distanced himself from the two Kryptonians.

Fine smiled. "You'll be all right now, Kal-El." John watched as Fine took advantage of the stunned Clark by speeding off into the distance at break-neck speed with him.

Meanwhile, Lois was pacing up and down. She had already spent 10 minutes trying to placate a waiter wanting to know where the young Italian man had gone. In the end she had settled it by paying the bill with an exorbitant tip.

"Meet me behind the Tourist Information Center." She heard John say.

She ran as fast as she could without using her temporary abilities. "So what happened." She said as she approached him, as he resumed his normal Earth persona.

"Clark is out of control. Jor-el thinks his psychosis will peak tomorrow sometime and then begin to reduce. He tried to drop me off a cliff, but before he had a chance to carry out his threat, Brainiac turned up, told him he was a Kryptonian and sped off with him."

"My god. I need to find him. If he listens to Brainiac we will have major problems."

"If it is any consolation, I think something would have stopped him from killing me. No matter how delusional he is, Kal-el would not kill an innocent person."

"John, he doesn't need to kill them, hurting them would be bad enough. Do you think he is back in the US? Brainiac must have followed Clark when he went back to the farm."

"I don't know and I cannot look too actively as Brainiac may work out who I am. We can only hope that Clark comes back for you at some point tonight. Did you tell Clark the name of the hotel where you were going to stay over?"

"Yes, do you think I should wait there for him?" Lois asked.

"I don't think we have much choice. I will book into the same hotel." John suggested so he could make sure she stayed safe. "If he does not come back, you are going to have to book a flight home in the morning as Clark may have trouble accepting the fact you have superpowers."

Clark realised he was moving at breakneck speed. They finally came to a stop in the middle of a hot desert.

"Where are we?" he looked at Fine.

"Somewhere in the Sahara. We do not want to be disturbed for what I have to tell you."

"I need to get back to Lois. She will be wondering where I am."

"Do you think that is a good idea? We will discuss her later. First I will tell you about me."

Fine walked, Clark followed. "I thought I was the last son of Krypton, but... you people keep popping up. Why are you here?"

"To help you walk the path of a true Kryptonian and to ensure you do not make the biggest mistake of your life. To be blunt, Kal-el, you trust humans more than your own people?

"Well you say I trust humans but please tell me why I should trust you. Why didn't you just tell me who you really were instead of posing as my professor this whole time?" Clark fired at him.

"Why do you keep your identity a secret, even from the woman you love? You've been on this planet many years, Kal-El. I had to observe you before revealing myself to determine just how much you've been influenced by these...humans."

" You say "human" like it's a bad thing. Anyway I have told the woman I love. Lois knows everything."

"Yes, only because you are in the midst of a breakdown. You have been with Lana Lang for years, yet you still have not told her your secret. Do you not think it is a coincidence that you have got together with someone you normally cannot bare to be in the same room as, and in the first few days of having done so, you spill all your deepest darkest secrets. What you are feeling Lois Lane is not real and once we have freed you from the influence of the dark power that has taken over you, you will realise this." Fine explained in detail.

"What dark power?"

"We will get to that part. Patience…Kal-el!"

" Just going on what I've seen even the humans you think you love can't be trusted. Take Lois Lane for instance. I believe you were just about to drop a man to his death because she showed interest in him. I was watching from a distance and I can tell you now that when you went to get some more drinks, she was leaving him in no doubt of her feelings."

" ou don't know anything about this race or Lois for that matter." Clark replied in a defensive manner. Yeah, they can be petty and dishonest and betray each other over nothing. But they can also be honest and loyal. And they would give up everything to protect someone they love."

" Kal-el..."

"My name is Clark. And I'll always believe in my friends and my family."

"Do you want to be released from this dark force that is infringing on your sanity? If not, I will leave you to your life amongst this inferior species."

Clark nodded for him to continue.

"Do you remember the bargain Jor-El made with you? Fine continued.

" How do you know about that?"

Milton smiled " I know more than you can imagine. I've been keeping an eye on you for months. It pains me to do this but I don't suppose I can hide the truth from you any longer. Your father was a violent dictator. He ruled over Krypton with an iron grip of fear and intimidation. Anybody who spoke out against him was locked away... even the great hero of the people... Zod. Maybe if he hadn't been captured, Zod could've stopped your father from eviscerating the planet. "

" My father destroyed Krypton? "

"Billions of people died. But he made sure his only son survived... all so that one day you could conquer the human race... and re-create Krypton on Earth."

" Why should I believe you?" Clark asked in disbelief.

"That is your choice, Clark. But if you do not, you soon will, as Jor-el will take you up on your side of the bargain and take away those humans who you love. I promise you that."

Clark could not cope with many more revelations. "Look, this is too much to take in and to be honest, I am having problems believing my father would destroy the race he did so much for. I need to get back to Lois." Clark sped off, leaving behind a very annoyed Fine.

"Lois will be wishing she had never set eyes on you." Fine announced quietly to himself…


	10. Chapter 10

Lois could not stop staring at John across this table. "I never took you as a redhead." She smiled.

"I just chose the first picture that came into my mind. As long as I am of the female species , we should be fine, unless Kal-el now thinks you have broadened your horizons in terms of gender." John laughed.

"Don't joke! I hope he does come back for me. I cannot face a 10 hour flight back to Kansas. I would love to run back now."

"He will come back for you although I bet Brainiac is trying to convince him otherwise. He loves you, Lois and I think that is the only thing keeping him from being pulled under at the moment. Jor-el has never been one to give much away but he regards you highly."

Lois blushed. "So I guess I will get on with my in-laws, well at least Jor-el. Tell me about Clark's mother."

"Lara was a beautiful, kind and intelligent women. She made Jor-el the man he was and without him I think he would have been lost. Much like Clark would be without you." John explained.

Just then a familiar face entered the reception area. "Time to kick butt!" Lois announced as she got up. She looked at John. "I may see you at breakfast, Amy. It was nice to meet you."

Clark noticed Lois approaching him. She noticed a sad and very sheepish look on his face. "Come with me, Clark. We need to have a serious talk." She grabbed his hand and took him to their room.

As she closed the door, she waited. "Right… what happened this evening? Did you hurt that man?" she demanded to know.

"No, I scared him but I did not hurt him. I don't think I would have done." He muttered.

"So where have you been all this time?"

"Just thinking about things. About us?"

"Do you want to break up? You seem convinced I was flirting with someone else, when I was not. You need to remember that you are imagining things at the moment. I will never look at another man again. I love you, and only you." She explained. "but if you feel you cannot trust me, let's just chalk it up to a nice few days together and never mention it again. I am not interested in copying the Lana and Clark rollercoaster relationship. We are either a couple or we are not."

Clark was taken aback by her matter of factness. "I don't want to break up, Lois. That would break my heart but you need to understand I am not myself at the moment. It turns out Milton Fine is a Krytonian and he has told me my father was a tyrant who razed my home planet. "

Lois looked at him. "And you believe him? From what you tell me about your father, he may try to dictate over your life, but to destroy the whole planet including himself and his wife, I find that hard to believe. What else did Fine say?"

"He said that you do not love me and that we are only together due to my present instability." Clark seemed upset.

"Look Clark. I am here for you and will help you beat whatever is affecting you but you need to decide where we stand. Maybe it would be better to see how you feel after you recover from your paranoia."

"Lois, you say that like I will recover. Maybe I will be like this forever. We don't even know what or who is causing it?"

"You will recover, I promise. Now, let's just work on helping you and forget about us until then." She smiled.

"I am sorry but I cannot do that." He said with an emotionless face as he walked towards her and started to unbutton her shirt. "I need you now…" He pressed his lips on to hers. She reciprocated immediately, as she started on his shirt. Soon they both fell back on the bed.

Everything was forgotten about that night, except the chance to express their feelings to one another in both a physical and emotional way.

The sun woke them up early next morning as they lay entwined in bed.

"Are you ok? Is everything ok between us?" he whispered gently in her ear.

She looked up at him. "Clark, do you think you need to ask that after last night?"

"Probably not, but I just thought I would ask. What do you think we should do next?" he asked with uncertainty.

"How about breakfast in bed and I forgot to tell you but I booked this room for another night?" Lois announced hoping he would agree to stay so they could let his infection peak with no one else in harm's way.

"You will have to convince me." He grinned as he pulled the duvet over their heads.

Back in Smallville…

Chloe walked past Jonathan as he answered the door and walked over the kitchen table where Martha was sitting in her dressing gown.

"Chloe, it is 2am."

"We have a problem! Lois is missing from the hotel. The maid has just let me into her room and it is a ram shackled mess. There has obviously been some kind of struggle going on and she said she saw a man matching Clark's description entering the room."

"Oh my god. He has Lois, doesn't he?" Martha said in disbelief. "He wouldn't hurt her, would he?"

"We cannot be certain. You saw what he was like and he and Lois don't see eye to eye normally. Why would he take her?" Jonathan asked.

Chloe put her hand to make her admission. "That may have been me. Lois admitted that she had been the one to call the police on Clark. I was going to tell you about it but I wanted to speak to Lois further about why she did it."

"This is such a mess!" Martha replied. "We cannot call the police. Maybe Lois is fine and has just gone away. " she picked up the phone.

"I wouldn't bother. Her phone has been switched off or out of area all day. I have even tried to track her last movements but the last place the phone was active was at the hotel about 2pm yesterday. After that… nothing."

"Do you really believe he has her?" Martha asked in a panic.

"I think we have to assume it is a real possibility. Lois is never one for not answering her cell." Chloe added.

" And I honestly don't know what he is capable of at the moment." Jonathan stressed. "You have seen how erratic and violent his behaviour has become."

Martha was about to ring Lois when she noticed a red flashing light on the phone display. "Maybe Lois has left a message. I will put it on speaker phone."

_Hello, Mr and Mrs Kent. This is General Sam Lane. I am ringing with a message for Lo. Will you tell her that I am going to be at Fort Ryan in the next few days and will pop in sometime on Thursday afternoon. For some reason she is not answering her cell. No doubt she has run out of credit on it. It will also be good to catch up with you two as well. Thanks. Bye._

Martha sank into the chair. "Could this get any more complicated?"

Meanwhile in Florence, Lois and Clark were having breakfast on their hotel balcony as they discussed the Milton Fine revelations as well as their plans to deal with Clark's problems.

Suddenly Lois heard her cell ring. "It's your mom. I must have knocked it on by mistake. What should I tell her? Chloe will have our location within a minute of me being on the phone. We need to come up with a reason why am I in Italy. Oh wait a moment…." Her face lit up.

Lois picked up. "Hi Martha! How are you?"

"Worried." Lois could hear the relief as Martha said it. "Chloe went by your hotel room to see you were ok. There were clothes strewn all over the floor as though there had been a struggle."

Lois looked over at a bright red Clark who was well aware of the reason for the bombsite. "Oh, Mrs K. You know how messy I am and I just had to grab clothes and run. I was really pressed for time."

Lois listened into the background noise. She could hear Chloe muttering to Jonathan. "She is in Italy, somewhere between Milan and Rome. How the hell did she get there?"

"Where are you, Lois? It sounds like the other side of the planet, going by the quality of this line." Martha tried to make up an excuse.

"I am in Florence. You wouldn't believe it my fiancé turned up at my hotel yesterday afternoon and whisked me by private jet to Italy so he could propose." Lois heard Clark choke on some toast as she explained her exciting news to Martha.

"Did she say fiancé?" Chloe asked angrily in the background.

"Chloe, what are you doing at the farm in the middle of the night?"

"Looking for you! By the way do we get to meet this mysterious fiancé of yours?" her cousin asked.

Lois paused, looking at Clark for guidance but he just shrugged his shoulders. He still looked whiter than she had ever seen him look.

"You know it is complicated, and we have to pick our time to tell his family and significant others." She said without lying.

"I don't think there will ever be a good time to break it to his wife and children." Chloe snapped back with venom.

Martha intervened. "Look, we will see you when you come back."

"We will be back on Thursday." Lois added. "See you then."

Jonathan looked shocked too. "I just hope she makes it back before her father arrives. I guess we can expect some fireworks, but at least she is well away from Clark."

Lois put her cell down on the table and waited for the blasting from Clark, but it never came.

He just looked at her and smiled, his color returning. "I guess we had better go and get you an engagement ring."

She looked flustered. "Look I will just say he has not had a chance to buy one yet."

He sniggered. "Lo, there is no way your supposed rich boyfriend is going to fly you 1000's of miles across the globe to one of the most romantic cities to propose and then not have a ring. Get real! Give me a moment!" he sped off.

Five minutes later, he returned. "Where have you been?"

"Silesia in Poland. I hope you appreciate the fact that I went down a coal mine for you."

"I can tell." She laughed as she saw the black dust covering the back of his shirt. "But I am not really into coal."

"Yes but you might be into this." He smiled as he opened his hand to show her two tiny but very expensive diamonds. "I made them from the coal. Now all we need to do is exchange one of these diamonds for a ring of your choice and get it set."

Her eyes lit up, but then dimmed a little. "This is a great way of keeping up the pretence."

He looked at her. "Yes it's perfect and we can sell it when this is all over." She listened for some disappointment in his voice but she never heard it, leaving her a little sad. "Let's stop in Paris to buy the ring." He suggested.

"In fact, let's go there now and book a hotel there for tonight. If we stay here, we will have to stay in the hotel in case the man I threatened yesterday is a local and recognises us."

"Ok… great idea." Lois hugged him and gently kissed him. She would never admit but she would be having the best time of her life, had it not been for two worried parents and an extremely angry cousin back in Smallville.


	11. Chapter 11

Clark and Lois headed downstairs to book out of the hotel. Lois caught a glimpse of Amy. "Give me a moment. I will just say goodbye to her."

She wandered over to John. "Hi Amy. Just to let you know we are changing our plans and heading to Paris." She winked at him.

"Well have a lovely time and keep in touch. Maybe we will meet up again one day." John smiled.

Clark waited at the desk for Lois. Moments later they were on their way to Paris. The first stop was for them was a small jewellery shop. Lois's eyes lit up when she saw some of the gorgeous rings on offer. It did not take her long to choose one.

"Here you are sir, lovely choice." The Parisian jeweller announced as he handed over the gold diamond ring and $5000 euros in exchange for the small but impressive diamond. "Have a lovely day and good luck for the big day whenever that will be."

Lois went red. "Oh we have not set a date yet."

Clark smiled at her as they walked towards the Eiffel Tower. "Lucky we are not really engaged or we would have to plan a wedding."

Lois found herself responding with a nod, but deep down she would have loved nothing more than to be at the center of a real proposal and engagement. She told herself there would be plenty of time for that in the future. Clark led her to a seat under the Eiffel Tower and ordered them coffee.

He took out the ring and tried to give it to her to put on, but she countered his move by offering her ring finger so he could put it in place. At least she could pretend for a few days as she looked down at the sparkling object on her hand.

Whilst Clark went to pay, Lois looked over and noticed an old man staring at her. He smiled and gave the now familiar wink. John was a man full of disguises. Clark returned and suggested that they should spend some of the money they had received.

"Let's blow some cash on some nice clothes for us both. I am sick of wearing plaid."

She put her hand on his chest. "Actually I think you look very cute in plaid and even cuter without it on. Shall we go and book into a hotel first?"

They booked into a five star hotel at the cost of 2000 euros per night overlooking the River Seine. She stood on the balcony looking down at her ring. "This is beautiful." She shouted at Clark who was having a bath.

"Are you sure you don't want to join me in here?" he called out hopefully.

"Ok, if you insist." She went into the bathroom.

They made the most of their time in Paris, ensuring they took in all of the usual tourist sites. Lois was thrilled when they got through the day without Clark becoming upset and dared to hope there was light appearing at the end of tunnel. As day turned to dusk they walked hand in hand through the Paris streets.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." Lois explained. "Just us two and no-one else."

"Me too, but unfortunately we need to go back to reality at some point." He paused and his expression turned serious, as though he had changed all of a sudden. "There is something I am curious about."

"What's that?"

"Why are you not frightened of me in case I freak out again? Do you not worry that I could hurt you?" he asked.

"No, I know you wouldn't and if you tried I would kick your butt." She joked, but his expression did not change.

"No I am serious. Maybe Milton Fine is right about us two. Have we just been flung together by circumstance? I don't understand why you are with me when I am like this. What changed your feelings for me?"

Lois did not like the way this conversation was headed. "I fell in love with you. I don't know what the trigger was and perhaps we have been thrown together by events of the past few days, but that does not matter. It is how we feel here and now that matters."

"It's the powers isn't it?" He replied. "Finding out I had powers was the trigger. So tell me, did you get together with me because I have powers or because you feel sorry for me."

Lois was getting angry with him. "Look Clark! I know you are going through a rough time but I am not going to stand here and be accused of leading you on."

Clark put his head in his hands as if he was in pain. "Lois, I need to deal with this alone. My head is full of thoughts, and I do not which are real and which are not." He sped off.

Lois sat on a seat, unsure of what to do next. She was residing herself to the fact she had just been abandoned for a second time, and would have to fly home, but fifteen minutes later he returned. "I have taken all your stuff back to your hotel in Smallville and the bill is settled at the hotel here. I am going to take you back to Smallville."

Before she had a chance to react, she felt herself being picked up and moments later she was sitting on the bed in her room. Clark was stood by the door. "Please understand that I need to handle this alone. I do love you but please respect my wishes."

Lois sobbed into her pillow, unsure how much more she could take. She had turned everyone she cared about against her and did not know which way to turn.

She looked at her watch. It was 7pm in Smallville so she decided to head over to the Kents to make sure they were okay."

Jonathan and Martha were just clearing away the dishes when Lois arrived with her suitcases. "Can I come and stay? I am getting stir-crazy and lonely at the hotel. I miss him so much."

"Of course you can sweetheart. This is your home. Where is your fiancé?" Martha asked as she made Lois a welcome cup of coffee.

"He had to leave me for a few days as he had things to sort." Lois replied as she started to play with her ring.

Martha looked down at it. "He has good taste. He must really care about you."

"He does, Martha. He is a very deep person and tends to hide his feelings but when he does share them, I feel closer to him than I ever have in my whole life. He feels like home."

Jonathan came downstairs. "I have made your bed up."

"Thanks, Jonathan! I didn't think I would be welcome after you found out that I told the police about Clark. I only did it because I was worried about you both and I thought it was the only way he would get any help. Have you heard from him?"

"No, he is not allowed contact with the outside world until he complete his therapy?"

Lois could see such sadness in their faces. She broke the silence. "I am just going to get the rest of my cases from the car."

"I will help." Martha offered. "Jonathan pulled his back this morning with the chores. He misses having Clark around to help."

As Lois approached the car, she noticed someone in the distance. She zoomed her vision in and saw Clark disappearing into the distance. He was watching her but why.

Lois excused herself as she needed some time alone to think, but it did not take long for sleep to engulf her. She had a dream about Clark being next to her; she could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck nuzzled into her. But then she realised that it had not been a dream as she woke up and turned over to see Clark looking at her. Within seconds he was gone…


	12. Chapter 12

Lois had set her alarm for 5am that morning. If Clark was not around to help his dad then she would and she talked herself out of cheating by using her superpowers.

Martha and Jonathan's eyes were wide with shock as they noticed an invigorated Lois practically bouncing down the stairs.

Martha looked at her husband. "We must have set our clocks for the wrong time. There is no way that can be Lois up this early."

Lois smiled. "Lane, reporting for duty, sir." She said, doing a joke salute at the same time.

"What duty?" Jonathan asked puzzled.

"If Clark cannot be here to help you with the chores, well I am more than happy to help. It is the least I can do for all the things you have done for me. My dad taught me well."

"Actually Lois, whilst we are on the subject of your dad…he is coming for tea this afternoon. He left a message on the answerphone to explain that he was at Fort Ryan for a few days and would be visiting."

Her face dropped. "I think we should put him off. What if he starts asking questions about Clark?"

"We will just have to deflect them." Jonathan suggested.

"No wait, I will take him out for something to eat so he does not bother you. It is the last thing you need at the minute."

"But Lois, he says he wants to see us to." Martha explained.

Jonathan got up. "Look I am going to start on the chores. Lois, you can help me but not until you have had breakfast. You are no use on an empty stomach." He smiled. "I think we may have some maple donuts in the larder."

Lois smiled as Martha grabbed her two. "There you go. Now can I get you some coffee."

"That would be great." She replied.

Martha sat down and started on her toast. "So what is Florence like?" she asked.

"It is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. It is so romantic, I could have just stayed there forever." Lois explained with a dreamy expression. "The food, the people, the architecture. What more can I say?"

"It sounds lovely. I miss travelling." Martha said. "Since being married, my travel has not extended to outside the US. Lois, I know you cannot tell me who you are engaged to, but tell me about the proposal. I love to hear about romance."

Lois looked nervous as she desperately tried to think of a story. "It is a bit of a blur to be honest. Can we save that story for him to tell you when I introduce you? He loves to tell stories like that." She explained.

"You will have to wait until his divorce comes through before you marry. Have you got any plans at all? Forgive me for being nosey but to be honest it is great to have something to think about other than Clark."

Lois smiled. "Well I guess I will have to look for a new bridesmaid as I don't think Chloe will agree to it. She really hates me."

"I think she is just shocked by the circumstances and speed of your relationship. Give her time."

Lois started to speak honestly. "I am just as shocked. I never expected to fall so hard and deep for someone. It was like a bolt of lightning and it was, as if, there was nothing I could do to stop it. He is the most perfect and caring man you could ever hope to meet. He has sacrificed so much in life to help others and he will continue to do so. He is going to make such a difference to this world."

Martha grabbed her hand. "He sounds perfect. He must be some kind of philanthropist with all of the money he has. It must be nice that he is so willing to share it with those in need. I hope he has a good divorce lawyer otherwise his wife may clear him out." Martha realised she had gone too far with that comment.

"Probably." Lois muttered. "How are you coping with Clark gone? You are very strong, Martha."

"Not really…maybe I am just used to it. Clark has run off before."

Lois was shocked. "When, what happened?"

"I think it was just some kind of teenage rebellion. He took off to Metropolis for months and we did not know where he was or even if he was alright."

"I have always taken Clark for the perfect son." Lois added.

"Don't get me wrong. Clark is fantastic and would do anything for us, but he is a deep person who only shares his feelings with those closest to him."

"Well I guess that excludes me." Lois joked.

Martha's eyes flickered. "No actually… quite the opposite. I have been watching the way Clark is around you and he is closer to you than he has been to most people in his life. He drops his barriers around you and values your opinions."

"But we fight all of the time."

"I think that is just your way of communicating with each other. You spend hours with him in the loft, and I find it impossible to believe that you are fighting the whole time. "

"We don't fight all of the time, but we do seem to spend a lot of time going around in circles over the latest trials and tribulations with Lana."

"He did have a habit about going on about her on an hourly basis but not for much longer I imagine." Martha gave her a knowing look.

"No doubt Lana will be back for him in the near future. She could never stay away for long."

"I wouldn't worry about her. Apparently she stormed around to the Luthor Mansion after Clark gave her the cold shoulder and has not left since."

"How do you know this?" Lois asked.

"Lionel rang to say he had made some important contacts in Paris. He has been there a few days on business."

Lois gulped but then told herself it was a large city. "Paris of all places."

"It was very strange because he asked what you were doing staying in one of the most exclusive hotels in Paris." Martha asked with a grin on her face…

Martha continued. "I explained you were just on a trip with your new boyfriend and you must have stopped there on the way back from Florence."

Lois panicked. "Did Lionel know who I was with? I would hate his identity to get out at this stage."

Martha shook her head and noticed a relieved look on Lois's face. "Although he did make a curious comment about Clark staying in the same hotel. Apparently he saw someone enter a lift that looked like him, but I managed to convince him otherwise. I mean, what would Clark be doing in Paris at the same hotel as you?"

"Exactly…"

"So what was he doing at such an exclusive hotel? I would have brushed it off as Lionel's imagination but then the description of your fiancé is so familiar. He sounds so much like Clark. Tell me I am mistaken and I will let it drop." Martha explained.

Tears formed in her eyes. "Martha, I am not going to deny it but please don't ask me to explain myself further. Give me a few days."

Martha smiled. "I trust you, Lois but please tell me if Clark is okay."

"I will bring him back to you, but at the moment, too much is at risk to elaborate further." She promised. "One thing – does Jonathan know?"

Martha looked at her. "No and I will not tell him until Clark is safe."

"Thank you so much." Martha stood up and hugged Lois tightly. "There is no one else I would rather Clark was with. I hope he knows how lucky is."

"He does." Lois smiled. "I had better get on with the chores. I am so sorry that I cannot tell you more."

Lois found Jonathan outside the barn trying to uncouple the trailer. "I just cannot seem to detach this. I think it is my back playing up."

"Let me have a go. I took my vitamins this morning." She bent over ensuring the coupling was out of his sight before easily separating the trailer from the tractor unit. "There you go!"

Jonathan smiled. "I think I will have to sack Clark when he comes home. He can lie in whilst you help me with the chores."

"Don't get carried away." She laughed. "This is a limited offer of help until he comes back."

After three hours or so, Jonathan appeared. "Look I am just going to pop down the store to grab some oil. I will only be 30 mins or so. Do you want to feed the horses and take them out to their paddock?" He suggested.

"Yeah, no problem."

She was brushing the horses down when she heard a noise from the loft. She ran upstairs to see what was happening.

"I am so sorry, Lois." He said as soon as she saw him.

"Clark, just give me a hug and stop apologising. How are you feeling?" she asked, hoping he was coming out of his psychosis.

"Not much different. I spent the night up at the Lake, well apart from the visit to you." He smiled. "I really don't know why I made those accusations last night but I need you to know that I did not mean it."

"I know you didn't." she said as she ran up to him to kiss him. "I missed you last night. It got cold when you left."

"Do you want to go to somewhere now and chat?" He asked.

"I can't. I promised your dad that I would help him with the chores. Don't worry I am not taking your job off you." She kissed him again, but this time with more passion causing him to move backwards towards the sofa.

Suddenly they heard footsteps. "Is anyone up there?"

"It's my father. Go…" she pushed Clark off her.

But it was too late. "Clark, Lois…" the General smiled. "Are you two arguing again? I am just going to head to the farm to see if anyone else is around."

"Martha should be in the house." Lois announced, hoping to get rid of him.

Clark just looked at her for guidance as soon as Sam had left. "Shall I go?"

"No, you can't. You will have to keep the pretence of everything being alright. My father has a nose like a bloodhound and can spot anything suspicious from miles away. Trust me when I say everything will work out. If you are getting stressed or anxious, just signal and I will come up with an excuse. Daddy will probably annoy you but try not to react."

Martha was cooking lunch when Sam arrived. "General Lane. I was not expecting you for a few hours yet."

"Please call me Sam. To be honest, I always make sure I am early to keep Lois on her toes and make sure she is not doing anything she shouldn't be." He smiled.

"She is just helping out with chores at the moment."

"Are you sure? It did not look like there weren't many chores being done. I just caught her and Clark talking over in the barn."

"Clark…" Martha tried to not to act surprised. She did not know if she should be worried or relieved to see him. Hopefully Lois would work her secret magic to keep him in check.

Only time would tell…


	13. Chapter 13

Clark and Lois walked into the farm house as though nothing was wrong. "Can I help?" Clark offered as he entered the kitchen to find Martha and Sam sitting at the table drinking coffee.

"Could you go and fetch the plates from the cupboard so we can set the table?" she asked.

Clark left the room. Seconds later, he shouted back through. "I can't find them."

His mom joined him. "I have missed you!"

He walked up to her and hugged her tightly. "Me too, mom. I have so much to apologise for but the paranoia and hallucinations are consuming me. I don't know if I am ever going to get better."

"We will find a way to make you better, Clark. Something tells me Lois already has a plan up her sleeve. She is an amazing woman."

"You know…" Clark panicked.

"Yes, she didn't tell me. It is a long story about how I found out and one we do not have time to talk about now."

"The engagement is not real. You don't have to worry. We just did it to cover up about Lois's mystery fiancé." He explained sheepishly.

Martha found herself feeling somewhat disappointed at that revelation. "Don't worry about all that now. We just need to hold things together until Sam leaves."

"General Lane." Clark heard his father's voice. "You are early."

"I know but I always think it is better than being late." Sam's voice boomed out across the kitchen. "I am just catching up with Lo, even though I only saw her last week."

"Where is Martha?" Jonathan asked.

Martha took Clark's hand. "We are here!"

"We…" Jonathan announced as he lifted his head and saw Clark. "Clark…" but then paused, looked at Sam and finished his sentence. "Do you want to carve the meat?"

Clark managed a nervous smile and nodded. "Ok." He said as he took the knife from his confused looking father.

"One of the benefit of having a son." Sam announced.

Lois glared at him. "Daddy I am sure I could cut some beef." She got out of her chair and went over to Clark. "Let me take over." She demanded.

Jonathan suddenly looked nervous. The last thing they needed was for Clark to become angry. He could not work out how Lois could be so stupid, having seen his unpredictable behaviour over the past four days.

Lois did not realise what she had done, but one look at Jonathan's face told her. She did not want him to stress so backed down. "I was only joking. You can do it, Clark."

Clark flashed her a smile that no-one else could see.

Sam looked around the table. "Is something wrong with everyone? Everyone looks very uncomfortable and on edge."

Jonathan forced himself to relax. "Nothing is wrong…. Clark and I have just had a disagreement over the last few days so if the atmosphere feels a little frosty then we will call a truce." He looked at his son for agreement.

Clark smiled back.

"I don't think frosty is the word. Reminds me back to the Cold War in the 80's when I was stationed in Berlin." He laughed loudly.

Lois cringed. "I am sure you do not mean that, daddy. How often have we had fights and arguments over the years?"

"Not that often, Lo. After all you knew that I was the boss of the house and that you would have to listen to me."

"Let's eat!" Martha said, breaking the growing tenseness, not only between Clark and his dad, but also between Lois and Sam.

Lois bit her lip, holding back the onslaught of words that she wanted to fire at her father. She was annoyed; he did the 'guess what I am a four star General' act every time he visited someone and it was becoming tiresome. But she knew that she could not risk Clark becoming embroiled with the instability of his present state.

The next hour was full of pleasantries covering every superficial topic imaginable, from the weather to the projected state of this year's crop.

"Martha, that was the most amazing meal ever. No wonder Lo loves living here." Sam sat back in his chair.

Suddenly there was a crack of thunder overhead. Clark got up. "I am just going to check on the horses. There is a storm coming so I'll put them back into the barn."

"I'll come and help." Lois replied and got up.

Jonathan panicked. "Don't you think you should stay and talk to your father? I will help."

"You can't. You hurt your back, remember. It won't take long." Lois explained, determined to get sometime alone with Clark.

Sam laughed. "Let her do it then you can tell me all about how Lois was been behaving herself."

"Two horses each." Clark said as they walked over to the paddock.

Within minutes they had the first two back in the barn safely. Lois was just about to head out and grab the next horse, but as she did, she felt Clark grab her hand and spin her round so they were within kissing distance of one another.

"I love you, Lo." He plunged his lips on hers in desperation. She responded immediately, but after a moment she pulled away.

"I love you too!" She planted a quick kiss on his lips as a consolation. "But we had better get these horses sorted otherwise they may bolt."

"I'll take Bud. You take the pony." She smiled as the rain started to pour down, making the field instantly muddy.

"Be careful with him, he hates the rain and can be flighty." Clark warned.

The whole sky lit up with flashes of lightning, making Lois notice some green speckles in the mud, reflecting with every flash. Seconds later Clark fell to the ground writhing around in agony.

Suddenly something exploded behind Lois and Bud. The reaction from the massive horse was almost instantaneous as he reared, causing Lois to lose her footing. Clark managed to clamber to his feet and tried to stop Bud from landing on Lois, but he couldn't. It was too late as the stallion brought his hooves down full force on her chest…

"Mom… Dad." Clark screamed at the top of his voice as he moved Bud away from the lifeless body of Lois. He felt weak… but kept as alert as possible until he could summon help.

"Oh my god!" he heard Martha scream as she entered the paddock with Sam and Jonathan. "What happened? Sam, could you go and call an ambulance."

Lois lay there, unsure of what to do. She remained as still as possible with her eyes closed. There is no way that she could have survived that trampling without her superpowers. She realised that the specks of green in the paddock were pieces of Kryptonite and just as she fell to the ground, she could have sworn she had seen Brainiac in the distance.

She then realised she could use Clark's recent vivid imagination to her advantage. Her eyes opened. "I am okay. Back off! Jonathan, can you go and tell my father that I do not need an ambulance. The horse missed me."

Clark staggered back. "It hit you in the centre of your chest."

"Clark, there are fragments of kryptonite surrounding you and you have not been particularly lucid recently so I can only guess that you imagined the horse making contact with me. Don't you think it would have left an imprint? Pardon me, Martha." She smiled as she lifted her top to reveal no sign of trauma on her skin.

"Honey, let's get you out of here. You must have imagined that!" Martha helped a stunned Clark out of the field, closely followed by Lois.

Sam came out of the house with Jonathan and ran to hug her. "Are you ok, Lo? I thought you were dead."

"No, definitely not! It was just a spooked horse and a very lucky escape."

Sam looked at Clark. "I do not appreciate, you putting my daughter in harm's way. Surely you knew the horse would react that way. That horse needed a strong hand."

"Daddy, it is my fault. I insisted."

"I am sorry but that does not wash with me. Clark was reckless and endangered your life. You will not have your life put at risk like that again. I want you to move back to Washington DC with me. I will arrange for you to fly back out with me in two days. I will let you stay until you have packed and then ring me and I will send a driver to bring you to Fort Ryan."

Martha defended Clark. "Don't you think you are over-reacting a little. Lois is fine now and I don't think taking her to Washington DC will make her any safer. Doesn't it have one of the highest crime rates in the US?"

"Actually, Lois! I have changed my mind, you can come with me now." He grabbed her hand and led her to the car. "We will pick up her stuff tomorrow." Before the Kent's could protest, they were heading off up the dirt track to the main road.

Jonathan looked confused. "Right, can we go back in the house and talk about what has just happened."

"What about Lois?" Clark protested.

"Let Sam calm down and we will convince him in the morning that the best thing is for Lois to stay in Smallville." Martha explained as they headed into the kitchen.

"Ok… shoot!" his father stated.

"Dad, I am sorry for all of the stress I have caused but I am still ill. What happened to Lois was a pure accident and the meteor rock weakened me so I could not help her." He explained. "I would never let anything happen to her. She means too much to me."

Jonathan sat back in his chair. "Since when?"

"Since I fell in love with and got engaged." Clark could not explain why he announced that they were getting married, but it just felt right.

"You're engaged! When did this happen?" His father continued to inquire.

"In Florence a few days ago…"

"It was you in Florence with her? Don't tell me that you used your powers to get you there?"

"Of course we did. We could not afford to fly." Clark tried to joke.

Jonathan was not happy. "We will have to see about this…"


	14. Chapter 14

"I am going to get her." Clark suddenly jolted back on his chair and grabbed his coat.

"Clark, sit down now." Jonathan replied. "We need to talk about this."

Clark sneered at him. "Do you really think I am going to listen to you? Lois has been kidnapped by Sam against her will and I am not going to let him get away with it."

Jonathan was mad. He got up to follow Clark out of the house but Martha blocked his path with her arm. "Don't…" she advised him. "Let me go and talk to him."

"Ok, but if he does anything to you…" Jonathan sat down.

"He won't! Give me a few moments and then come out. If you go out in that mood you will just inflame the situation."

Clark was about to climb into the truck when he heard his mom calling him. "Clark, stop. I need to talk to you." She waited for him to open the window.

"Do you really think that this will help Sam to see your viewpoint? If you go in all guns blazing I guarantee that you will never see Lois again, and what if you were to hurt her father, do you think Lois would have anything to do with you. She has supported you through everything of the past few days but I think even she would find it hard to forgive you. Come back into the house to talk. Your father has promised to calm down."

Clark looked at her. "Ok, but if he has annoys me again, I will be off and you will not see me for a long time." He threatened.

"Thank you!" She said as he followed her into the house and joined her at the table with Jonathan.

"Right, I am waiting." Clark slumped in the chair and looked impatient.

"We just need to make sure that you are making the right decision about Lois and that it is not because you have been thrown together due to the unusual circumstances at the moment. We had no idea that you and Lois were together, and the last thing we heard – Lois had a married boyfriend. What happened to him?" his dad asked.

"There never was a married boyfriend. It was just Lois's way of keeping Chloe off the scent whilst Lois helped me. I don't know how I can have been so blind to her."

His dad shook his head. "Son, sometimes when people get thrown into a volatile situation together, sparks can fly causing two people to get closer. I don't see how you can go from seasoned bickerers to fiancés in four days. That does not make sense. There is no doubt that Lois is a fiercely loyal and honourable person, but please don't mistake it for something it isn't."

Clark's expression turned serious. "I do not appreciate my feelings being belittled and please spare me that 'you are too young to be this serious about her' speech . I save lives on an almost daily basis and have dealt with more conflict than a human sees in their entire life time. I am not human and yes I often feel alone. Lois is the first person who has treated me as though I am normal. If I piss her off, she kicks my ass; if I am moping, she tells me to get over it, and most importantly she loves me for who I am, not what I can do."

Jonathan sat back in his chair. Something Clark said had just made him sit and take notice of how much his son had matured in less than a week. He realised now that he had to give him the benefit of the doubt and wait until this crisis was over to see about the future of his son's fledgling relationship with Lois.

Martha was listening intently to their conversation and was impressed by how well her son put his point across. The only thing that had surprised her was the fact the engagement had gone from fictitious to the real thing. In fact she wondered if Lois even knew about Clark's change of heart.

"Hello!" Lois said sheepishly as she came in the door.

"Lo.." Clark jumped out of his seat and kissed her on her lips, not bothered about his parents seeing it. "How did you convince your father to let you come back?"

"He had a change of heart and seemed to forget all about what happened." She announced. She was not actually lying but did not want to delve further into the subject of Martians and mind wipes.

Lois pulled away and nervously looked across at his parents, who were giving a supportive, yet unconvincing smile. "Sorry about that!"

"Don't worry, Lois. We have had a talk with Clark and we are fine about your relationship although I must say getting engaged after four days could be seen as quite hasty but we will reserve our judgement on that until we get Clark feeling better." His father explained their position.

Lois looked at Clark with a puzzled look. "Engaged?"

"Can we talk about it in bed later?" he smiled, hoping his parents had not overheard. Looking around, he realised that they had heard everything.

"Can we have a talk in other room a moment?" His father announced sternly.

A sheepish looking Clark followed his father through to the lounge. "Clark, did I hear the word bed? We may be accepting your relationship with Lois but there is still going to be no change in the sleeping arrangements whilst you are under our roof. I know you are not irresponsible and you would not endanger Lois by doing anything you are unsure of."

"We already have!" Clark replied without a hint of embarrassment. "And she still looks in one piece to me."

His dad went red. "How could you take that risk?"

"Dad… chill! I am a Kryptonian, not a monk." He smirked, annoying his dad even more.

"You are under our roof now and you will abide by our rules." Jonathan fired back.

Clark walked away from him. "Ok, we will not be staying under your roof tonight." He headed over to Lois, picked her up and sped out of the door.

"Let him go…" Martha suggested. "You know that is not like Clark. We need to give a little leeway with everything that is going on."

Lois wondered where he was taking her but she wasn't complaining. It was a chance to keep Clark away from his parents for another night, therefore lessening the chances of further conflict. By Jor-el's calculation, Clark would be back to normal within the next few days and then he would have to take on and destroy Brainiac.

Moments later, they touched down somewhere in the mountains. She recognised them from photos she had seen.

"You brought us to Mammoth Lakes. You really do know how to do a grand tour. Where are we going to stay?"

Clark pointed over to a nearby Lodge on the other side of the lake. "I am sure they will have some spare rooms in that hotel over there. I still have $2000 left so we can afford it. We need to talk about my 180 about the engagement anyway."

They checked into the Lodge and were shown to a lovely suite with an ensuite Jacuzzi.

"This is perfect." She said as she turned the Jacuzzi on.

"I will order some room service." He grabbed the phone.

They were soon sat in the Jacuzzi, enjoying strawberries and champagne. "So Clark, what is this about the engagement being the real deal? You gave me the impression that you would be horrified by the thought."

He smiled and grabbed the ring off the side of the tub. He moved in front of her and got down on one knee. "I made a mistake when I said that. I cannot imagine a life without you in it. You make me complete. Lois Lane, I will wait for you forever but would you do me the honour of agreeing to be my wife at some point in the future."

She replied without hesitation. "Yes… I was hoping you would change your mind." She kissed him passionately, and he responded by pinning her against the side of tub, and deepening their exchange.

The following morning they were woken by the ringing of Clark's cell. He looked… "It's my parents. Let's ignore it!" He rolled on top of her.

Then their moment was soon disturbed by the Lois's cell. "I am going to take this call or we will keep getting disturbed." She said as she picked up.

It was Jonathan. "Lois, can you come home now." There was desperation in his voice. "Martha is seriously ill and she is deteriorating quickly."

Clark had heard his father's plea, panicked and jumped out of bed. "Tell him we will be back within 30 minutes."


	15. Chapter 15

"Where is she?" Clark asked as he ran through the door of the farmhouse closely followed by Lois.

"In here!" Jonathan called them into the lounge.

"What happened?" Lois asked as she knelt down next to the sofa that Martha was laid on. Her eyes were barely open but she was writhing in pain.

Lois felt panicked for the first time since Jor-el had catapulted her on this mission that had changed her life. She needed to talk to him urgently. Brainiac was obviously using those people Clark loved for his own gain and ultimate victory.

"She is burning up. Have you got any medication to reduce her fever?" Lois asked hoping the answer would be no.

Jonathan shook his head. "Martha is never sick so we have never bothered. "

Lois grabbed her purse. "We need to get some. I will pop to the drugstore." She ran out of the door and climbed into her car.

As soon as she was out of sight of the farm, she pulled down one of the many dirt tracks. She sped into town and headed straight into the drugstore until to find herself face to face with Chloe.

"Lois, just the person I need to talk to." Chloe announced as she pulled her to one side of the shop out of the way of prying ears.

"Chloe, now is not a good time." She said with urgency in her voice. "Martha is ill with a fever and she needs medication."

"Yeah right, pull the other one. I know who you are seeing."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Look, Chlo if I don't get this medication back to Martha, she could become really ill."

Chloe did not stop. "You are seeing Mark Bennett and don't bother telling me he is just a donor to Jonathan's campaign. I saw the way he was with you when you left your father's hotel this afternoon."

"Chloe, he could see I was upset after fighting with my father. He asked how the campaign was going and offered to help in any way he could."

"I bet he was helping you."

Lois wanted to tell Chloe to get lost but she knew she could not afford to rouse her suspicions. "I am not seeing Mark."

"Well you had better explain that to your father, as he is coming back into town tomorrow. He saw you talking to Mark so I felt I had no choice but to tell him about your sordid affair."

"Chloe, my father is not my concern at the moment. I will sort that problem out tomorrow." Lois replied calmly but firmly.

Just then Chloe got a text. Lois had a feeling who it would be, so zoomed into the screen.

_Chloe, need your help at the farm. Mom could die. I think it is Jor-el. I need to go and see Milton Fine for some answers. _

"Oh my god, it's true."

"Yes, I have been trying to tell you for the past five minutes." Lois grabbed the medicine and walked out of the door.

Chloe grabbed her shoulder. "I am coming with you. My car is out of gas."

Lois looked at her in horror and knew Chloe would not take no for an answer.

"Where is your car?" Chloe asked, curious as to why it was not parked outside.

Lois lied. "It is parked around the back of the Talon." She said as Chloe followed her up the alley. "Chloe, give me your hand and hold on… Jor-el."

Chloe felt the ground move from under her feet. "Where…" but she did not get the chance to finish before they found themselves in the Fortress.

"What the hell?" Chloe just looked at Lois, totally stunned.

Lois walked to the center console, motioning for Chloe to stay back. "Jorel, we have major problems. Martha is ill, no doubt, poisoned by Brainiac. We need to stop him now."

"Lois, I do not think Clark is strong enough to defeat him. I calculate by sundown tonight, the poison will have left his system." Jor-el said without emotion.

"So where does that leave, Martha? You cannot let her die."

"We may have no choice, Lois."

"We do have a choice. I will take Brainiac on myself." She said with determination.

"As I told you before, the superpowers I gave you are not enough to defeat him. You will die and that would have much more serious consequences for humanity. You must stay alive." Jor-el explained.

Chloe walked forward. "I do not know what is happening here but I have to agree with Lois. We cannot let Martha die! Clark would never forgive you, Jor-el."

Lois smiled at her cousin. "Nice to have you on side, Chloe."

"Jor-el, What if, Clark and I joined forces to defeat Brainiac. Would that be enough?"

"It might be, but you cannot take the risk. Clark will not achieve his destiny without you. Brainiac could destroy you both."

"I will take that risk. Martha's life is non-negotiable and I will not let her be sacrificed." Lois announced as she grabbed Chloe. "Let's go kick some ass, cuz."

Lois sped them back to the car and told Chloe to get in.

"Right, you have five minutes to explain yourself before we get back to the farmhouse. How long have you known Jor-el."

Lois went onto explain about the night in Washington when Jor-el took her to the Fortress and gave her powers to help Clark defeat Milton Fine.

"So why you?" Chloe asked with a hint of jealousy in her voice. "Surely I would be the obvious choice as I knew all about Clark and his powers already."

"That is a complicated story. Can we leave this until we get Martha out of harm's way?" Lois scanned the farmhouse, but there was only Jonathan and Martha there. "Clark's gone."

Lois ran in with Chloe. "How is she?" Lois asked.

"She is still burning up but has mentioned to doze off. We will give her some medicine as soon as she comes around again." Jonathan was beside himself with worry.

"Where is Clark?" Chloe asked.

"He has gone to see Professor Fine as he may have some answers to what is causing this. He muttered something about this being part of bargain he had made with Jor-el and that his father was coming back to collect." He explained.

Meanwhile at CKU, Clark was talking with Fine trying to get some answers.

"Does your mother have any markings on her skin?" Fine asked.

"Yes she does."

Milton had a concerned look at his face. "Describe it to me."

"It's like a bruise, with veiny strands."

Milton continued his questions. "Did it start on her left shoulder?"

"Yes, why?"

Milton looked at Clark awakwardly as though he did not want to tell him. " Your father tortured his dissidents on Krypton the same exact way." He could see the look on Clark's face so continued to drive the knife in. "I don't suppose I can hide the truth from you any longer. He was a violent dictator. He ruled over Krypton with an iron grip of fear and intimidation. Anybody who spoke out against him was locked away... even the great hero of the people... Zod. Maybe if he hadn't been captured, Zod could've stopped your father from eviscerating the planet."

Clark looked at Fine with an incredulous look "My father destroyed Krypton?"

"Clark, billions of people died. But he made sure his only son survived... all so that one day you could conquer the human race... and re-create Krypton on Earth."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Believe what you will. My concern is for your mother's health. I need to see her immediately."

Clark and Fine sped to the house where they found Jonathan getting his coat on whilst. "Clark, I am taking your mom to the hospital."

"Dad, the doctors can't help but Fine can. At least let him take a look at her." Clark pleaded his dad to listen.

Jonathan shook his head. "Clark, go out and get the truck. Martha, I'm taking you to the hospital, sweetheart. Come on."

Milton stared at him "The doctors can't treat her, Mr. Kent, trust me. If they puncture her skin or use any medication, it could kill her instantly."

"Why should I trust you?" Jonathan replied.

Clark put his arm out to stop his dad. "He's Kryptonian. This could be a Kryptonian disease."

"Jonathan, Clark?" Chloe shouted from the lounge.

They ran through to see Martha convulsing. "She is having some kind of fit." Fine announced. "She needs a meteor rock. Do you have a meteor rock?"

Clark panicked. "Dad, in the closet!"

" I got it! Martha..." he shouted as he gave it to Fine. Clark backed off to the other side of the room to get away from the rock. Chloe looked at Lois to do the same, but Lois just knowingly smiled and remained knelt by the sofa.

"Hold it to her forehead." Fine instructed Jonathan. The rock glowed and the convulsions started to subside.

Clark started to get excited. "It's working."

Milton shook his head. "In this case, appearances are deceiving. There is no cure. The meteor will only help ease her pain. I'm sorry, Kal-El. Within a matter of hours, your Earth mother will be dead. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Jor-El." Clark said as he headed towards the door.

"Don't. He'll only feed you more lies." Fine explained.

"I don't care. I won't listen."

"Hey, wait a minute. Are you telling me Jor-El is responsible for this? What's going on, Clark?" his dad asked.

"When Jor-El brought me back to life, he warned me someone close to me would have to die." Clark explained.

Jonathan looked angry. "So he is going after your mother. And why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I didn't want you and Mom to worry." Clark announced, trying not to upset him further.

"Well, you're the only one that has a chance of stopping this, so go on, do something." He nodded at Clark to go ahead.

"Can I have a few minutes with mom alone?" Clark announced to Lois and Chloe so they got up to join Jonathan in the kitchen.

Clark sat on the floor next to his mom, who had settled down considerably.

"I overheard about Jor-El, Clark. I want you to know, I'm more than ready to give up my life for the life of my child." Martha explained weakly.

Tears started to form in his eyes. "Don't talk like that, Mom."

"You've given me so much happiness, Clark. I don't know what I would've been without you.

"Without me, none of this would have happened."

" Don't ever feel guilty about this. Do you hear me? I wouldn't have it any other way. You're gonna be fine. Look at you. You... you're a man now, Clark. A wonderful man. My... my job's done. Lois can take over now. She is an amazing woman; trust her with your life, Clark."

"Mom, no… You have to fight this.

Martha rubbed the tears off his cheek. "I love you, Clark. And just because I'm...gone... it doesn't mean my love goes with me. I'll always be in your heart. Always."

"I'm not gonna let you die." Clark got up, determined and sped out of the door.


	16. Chapter 16

In the confusion, no one noticed Lois send a text from her cell. Jonathan and Chloe were pacing up and down, wondering what would happen next.

"Right, Jonathan… Chloe. Could you both take a seat in the lounge and just listen?" Lois announced in an authoritative voice.

"Now is not the time for a speech, Lois." Jonathan replied.

Seconds later… Jonn arrived, hugged Lois and announced. "Good luck… you will prevail." She smiled and sped off…

John looked at Jonathan and Chloe who were stood in front of him with a puzzled look on his face.

"Do you mind me asking what is going on detective?" Jonathan asked.

"Ok, this will be a lot to take in. My earth name is John Jones and I have worked as a detective in the Met PD for a number of years. The purpose of my presence on this planet is to protect Kal-el as requested by his father. I used to be an advisor to Jor-el before Krypton's destruction. Before you ask I am not a Kryptonian, but come from Mars.

"So you know how to stop Jor-el?" Jonathan asked in hope.

"Jor-el is not the problem. Professor Fine is not Kryptonian. He is an advanced artificial intelligence called The Brain InterActive Construct, or Brainiac, for short. He helped to destroy Krypton and now he is going to try and get Clark to destroy the Fortress, thus releasing Zod. If the Fortress is destroyed, there is no hope for humanity as Zod will try to rule Earth like he tried to rule his home planet."

"So billions will die?" Chloe asked.

"No, but they will wish they had when Zod takes over." John explained.

"Why did Jor-el choose Lois?" she asked.

"Lois and Kal-el have always been destined to be soulmates. They were not aware of this when all of this started, but Jor-el knew his only choice was to involve Lois in his plans to save his son. Your son was infected by silver Kryptonite almost a week ago and that is why he has become unpredictable and dangerous. Lois was given temporary powers, equal to that of Clark and has spent the past 6 days protecting him from himself as well as those around him. The idea was to wait for the kryptonite to work its way out of Clark's system but Lois knows we cannot wait any longer. They must destroy Brainiac." John explained as he looked across at an increasingly fragile Martha.

Jonathan looked concerned. "Is Lois in danger from the powers? I have had heart trouble since I had Clark's powers."

"No, she is at no risk. As his soul mate, she is immune from the effects of the powers. Everything that has happened in the past week has been engineered by Lois. She will stop at nothing to protect Kal-el and Earth."

Chloe started to realise something. "So Lois lied about her affair and the engagement?"

Jonathan managed a half smile. "No Chloe, she has been seeing someone and the engagement is very much real."

"It's Clark, isn't it?" She asked for clarification.

"Yes, it is." John interrupted.

Lois arrived at the Fortress within minutes, but held back to a safe distance outside the ice structure. She used her super senses to hear and see what was happening.

She could hear the unbelievable anger in Clark's voice. "I'll tear this place down, piece by piece. Just tell me where to start."

Milton walked towards the console and gave Clark what looked like a large icicle. "Right here. Stab it into the console. It'll trigger a self-destruct mechanism, and Jor-El, and his fortress, will be forever gone. Then your family will be free and your mother will live."

Clark asked. "What is it?"

Milton replied impatiently. "It was created to defeat your father, but Zod was a man of peace. He would only use it as a last resort. There was never a chance."

"There is now. Jor-el will never hurt my family again." Clark said with determination, as he lifted up his hands so he could plunge into the console.

"Clark…" Lois's voice echoed throughout the structure. She decided to try a risky gameplan – the direct approach.

Clark stopped the moment he heard her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to stop you making the biggest mistake of your life. If you do destroy Jor-el and the Fortress, Zod will escape and wipe the human race from the Earth."

Fine was angry. "Lois Lane, high school drop out…and she claims to know about the Kryptonian race."

Clark looked at her with such a confused look in his eyes. "How did you get here?"

"I ran here." She smiled.

"Kal-el, are you going to believe your girlfriend ran here from Kansas? Jor-el knows how strong your feelings for this human are, and he is using this against you. She is not real. I will prove it."

Without hesitation, Clark put himself in front of Lois to create a barrier from Fine's heat vision, but it was too strong, knocking them both back against one of the ice walls. Clark panicked and looked around at Lois. "Lo, are you ok?"

Lois opened her eyes and got up, walking towards Fine. "Why don't you tell Clark, all about how you caused his current mental instability and why you are about to kill his mom?"

"She is a fabrication by Jor-el… trying to trick you into destroying me. He used this tactic on Krypton to win over the people. You say you love Lois Lane. Do you not think you would have realised that she had superpowers. Are you willing to risk the life of Martha Kent? Don't fall for it?"

Clark was confused. Who should he trust? He had seen Jor-el use tricks like this before.

"Kal-el, we are talking about the same father who tried to deceive you by using a dead girl to trap you in the Fortress years ago."

This made Clark even more confused, until he saw Lois come towards him. She did not speak and kissed him passionately. She felt him respond after a few seconds. Suddenly she pulled away far enough so she could move her mouth to his ear. "Clark, believe him and I will kick your butt like I promised to in Paris." She whispered gently.

That was all he needed. He looked over at Fine. "I will not let you destroy my father and my world. Humanity needs me as much as I need humanity, and I will not help you to obliterate them as you did my home planet."

Fine snapped. "Ok, if you feel that way, we will just do this the hard way." He blasted Lois with all the force he could muster. She flew through the air, hitting a stalagmite at break neck speed, and then ending up in a heap. Clark felt rage course through his whole body as he went to make sure over to make sure Lois was ok. He knelt over her for a moment or so taking in what had happened.

Fine noticed the look on Clark's face as he got up from the lifeless body of Lois. There were tears in his eyes. "You will pay for this." He ran directly for Fine, taking him right across the whole structure with his tackle. "You killed her."

The android smiled. "You will thank me in the long run." as he brought some green kryptonite out of his pocket.

Clark could feel his knees collapse, the overpowering and intense pain covering his whole body.

"I win…" Fine replied smugly. "You will kneel before Zod.", as he grabbed Clark by his arms and dragged him across to the console. Picking up the icicle, he put it in Clark's hands. "I will give you a hand."

Suddenly Fine felt something searing at his back, he turned around to see Lois's eyes glowing red. The shock sent the Kryptonite flying through the air. He was about to fire back when he felt a powerful force pushing him into the air.

Clark used all of the power he had to send Fine flying. Lois and he watched as Fine was left impaled on some crystal spikes before suddenly exploding into a ball of white light and disappearing….


	17. Chapter 17

Clark collapsed to the ground, his knees buckling under the weight of the kryptonite exposure and the realisation of what had just occurred.

"Clark…" Lois ran to him. "Are you ok?"

He looked up at her. "I think it is just a lot to process…."

She helped him to his feet. "I am so sorry that I had to lie to you."

"Lois, you saved me, my parents, my friends and probably the population of Planet Earth. Do you really think that warrants an apology? If so, I will accept a kiss as an apology." He smiled weakly.

She kissed him gently on the lips. "Is that enough of an apology?"

"Not really… try harder."

She pressed her lips on his and deepened their exchange. "How about that?"

"Getting better." He grinned.

"I am sorry to interrupt." Jor-el's monotone voice boomed across the Fortress. "Lois, I would like to express my gratitude to you. You have shown courage and proved your suitability to be Kal-el's soulmate."

"My son." His father continued. "You have shown remarkable restraint even when placed under the severe stress placed on your mind by the silver kryptonite. As a consequence I feel that the balance has now been restored and I will no longer ask for one of those close to you to be sacrificed as result of your recent salvation. My judgement of humans has perhaps been too rash and I can see now why you place your trust and hope in this race."

Clark looked around the Fortress. "That means so much coming from you… Jor-el. Will my mom be ok now?" He asked in a panic.

"Martha Kent is now completely cured of Brainiac's infection and will not suffer any long term effects. I think it is now time to return to Smallville. But, I would like to ask you and Lois to return to the Fortress this evening at sundown." Jor-el asked.

"Ok…" Clark replied, somewhat puzzled by the request.

"Race you." Lois said as she nudged him and sped out of the ice palace.

It did not take long for Clark to overtake her and he could have left her for dust over Alaska but he slowed up to give her a chance.

They were soon at the farm. Clark opened the door to be greeted by the welcome sight of his mom sitting up on the sofa, looking like her usual self and being fussed over by Chloe and Jonathan. There was a man there, who he did not recognise, and he was going to ask but he was soon engulfed by concerned hugs from his family and friend.

"Are you ok? We were so worried." His dad hugged him even tighter. "Did you defeat Fine?"

"Yes, dad. He is gone."

"You may find that Brainiac has not been destroyed, but only temporarily defeated. He has a unique ability to regenerate himself." John explained as he extended his hand. "I am John Jones and I was your father's security adviser on Krypton. Your father has told me so much about you as has Lois."

Clark looked at Lois, who nodded. He shook John's hand.

"We have met before." John smiled as he turned into the Italian man who Clark had threatened.

Clark looked guilty all of a sudden and relaxed a little. "That was you! I honestly thought I had terrified some poor man to death."

"Not quite." John laughed. "Although I did get a bit sick of hanging around with you."

Clark looked across at his parents who had a puzzled look on their face. Lois interrupted. "We will tell you the whole story over a cup of coffee." She went through to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

Lois could not help but notice that Chloe was looking distracted. "Chlo, do you fancy heading to the Talon for a coffee?" she asked.

Her cousin managed a half smile. "Ok, but can we drive?"

"Of course." Lois looked at Clark. "you don't mind us taking off for an hour or so, do you?"

He smiled. "Why would I? Have a nice time!"

Lois could see the dynamics of her relationship with Chloe had changed but the question was how hard would it be to repair the damage.

Chloe brought over two lattes and took a seat next to Lois.

Lois took a deep breath. "Ok,let's lay our cards on the table. You're pissed, aren't you."

"Lo, in the circumstances I think that is too strong a word to use. I think confused would be a better term. It is a lot to take in."

"I am sorry I had to say all those horrible things to you but I needed to keep you safe and away from the secret. Jor-el said I had no choice if I wanted to save Clark. You do know I would never have an affair with a married man. I am definitely a one guy kind of girl."

Chloe looked at her. "I know, Lo and I guess that guy is Clark."

Lois detected a hint of jealousy in her voice. "You're not happy about Clark and me, are you?"

"I would rather it was me." She joked but there was an underlying truth in her comment. "But if there was anyone else I would like to see date my best friend, it would be you. I must admit it is quite hard to see from how you have gone from frenemies to lovers in a week."

"I know what you mean." Lois smiled. "If you had asked me who I would end up engaged to, I would have said anyone but Clark."

"Have you ever thought that Jor-el may have lied? Maybe he chose you to help and knew the only way to do this was to convince you that Clark was your future partner." Chloe offered.

"We will see what happens." Lois replied, knowing Chloe would not be able to let go off her doubts that easily. "We may not be dating tomorrow if my father has anything to do with it. I am sure he will try to marry me off in a few years."

Chloe went red. "I am sorry about that."

"Don't worry. Did he say what time he will be in town tomorrow?"

"In the afternoon!"

"I think I had better pay a visit to Fort Ryan this afternoon, otherwise he is going to make Mark's life hell." Lois announced.

"I hope not! His wife will not take it well." Chloe looked guilty.

"Your gossip radar must be way off at the moment, Chlo. His wife left last week with the kids and moved in with her tennis coach."

Chloe's mouth dropped. "I never knew. The last thing he needs is to be accused of an affair with you."

Lois looked at her watch. "I will drive up to Fort Ryan now. No time like the present, wish me luck."

"Do you want me to come and tell him I was wrong." Chloe asked.

"No, it's fine." Lois smiled. "Why don't you chill out!" She grabbed her keys, hugged Chloe and left.

She pulled out her cell and started to text. "_Clark, going to Fort Ryan to have it out with dad." _She had just pressed the send button when she felt a breeze and turned around to notice a grinning Clark sitting next to her in the car.

"Hi." He said. "I am coming with you. Your father will want to meet your fiancé."

"Okay if you insist." She smiled.

She pulled away and they headed off on the 35 mile drive to Fort Ryan. "So how is your mom?"

"Back to her usual self." He replied. "It was close and I never want to go through that again. My parents mean so much to me and I have finally had the chance to tell them that."

"I wish I was that close to my dad. He will never speak to me again." Lois suggested.

"John told us about his mind wiping abilities and how Sam was his latest victim. Why don't you just ask him to do it again?" Clark asked.

"No…Clark. That is the easy way out. This week has taught me that I can kick ass without my father's help. I have always been terrified to confront him and tell him what I really think. Well, not anymore. We are together and if he does not accept that, then tough."

"I love you." Clark said as he placed his hand on her shoulder to show his support to her.

"I love you too, Clark and hopefully my dad will see that."


	18. Chapter 18

"Let's have some fun." Lois smiled at Clark as she noticed the obvious new recruit guarding the entrance of Fort Ryan.

Clark knew exactly what she had planned. "Be nice, Lo!"

Lois climbed out the car as Clark waited for the action to start. "Private Benjamin…." She laughed as she noticed the name on his uniform.

"Are you the one from the movie?" She asked.

"No…maam." He said, his voice already nervous at her presence. He straightened himself so he could look more official. "How can I help you?"

"I am here to see my father."

The Private looked at her. "Do you have an appointment? The soldiers are not allowed to see their family without prior notification and an appointment."

"I am so rude I did not introduce myself. I am Lois Lane." She announced with the emphasis on her surname. She could see the name sink in, and the instant reaction.

"Did you say…Lane?" he gulped nervously. "Do you mean General Lane is your father?"

"Yes, he is my father and I need to see him. I have to introduce him to my fiancé." She explained.

The Private looked over her shoulder and noticed Clark sitting in the car. He was listening in and decided it was time to make an appearance.

"Lois, what's happening?" he asked innocently.

"Patience! I am just informing Private Benjamin here that I need to see my father." She replied in the hope that the Private would soon spring into action and ring down to HQ. "I am sure he is just about to call to inform the General we are here."

The Private nodded and headed to his phone. He explained the situation to the General.

"I will send a jeep with an armed guard to escort them. You know the drill, Private." Sam ordered, not realising the conversation was being eavesdropped.

Clark and Lois looked at each other. "I guess you are dangerous, Clark. Who knows what you might do." She laughed.

A few moments later a jeep with armed soldiers on board turned up. Clark and Lois climbed in, and they sped up to the HQ.

They were then shown into the HQ, but only after they had been patted down by security and checked for weapons. A soldier led them down the maze of corridors and security doors to the office where her father had taken up residence for the stay.

"God, security has been tightened up since I was last here." Lois commented but was only met with stony silence from the soldier escorting them.

"Will you take a seat?" The soldier ordered to Clark, who thought it was strange that they had never asked him for ID. "Ms Lane, your father has requested that he sees you alone at first."

She left Clark and went through the open door to a large but old fashioned office. She noticed her father getting out of his chair and heading towards her.

"Lo." He said as he hugged her and asked her to take a seat on one of the armchairs. "I must say I am surprised that you are here. "

"What is up with security here? It is more like Fort Knox than Fort Ryan." Lois inquired.

"The reason I am here is due to a security breach last week where a large cache of illegal weapons were found near the outside perimeter." Sam explained. "Anyway I will not bore you with army business… I am glad you have come as I believe we have a few things to talk about."

Lois took a deep breath, hoping that all she needed to tackle was the subject of her mystery fiancé and not the horse rearing incident. John had convinced her that his mind wipes were fool proof. It soon became apparent that they were, as her father started his rant about Mark.

"Lo, I am very disappointed by what Chloe tells me. Since when did you think it was acceptable to go for married men, and even worse one with children?"

She remained calm as she raised her hand, signalling for Sam to pause. "Daddy, if you give me a chance."

He stopped.

"I am not seeing Mark and I would never see a married man. Chloe is mistaken. I have brought my fiancé here to meet you. He asked to come." She explained.

"Ok…" Sam replied with a puzzled look on his face. He went over and pressed the intercom. "Send him in." he barked into the machine.

Clark walked in, leaving Sam standing in front of his desk with his mouth gaping over in shock. His expression suddenly changed. "Lo, I am not falling for that one. Clark, it is nice of you to protect my daughter and pretend to be her fiancé, but I did not come down in the last shower."

Clark walked over to Lois and put his arm tenderly around her waist. "I am her fiancé. I proposed to her a few days ago and she accepted immediately. Before you say anything we have no plans to get married until after we graduate from college."

Sam realised that Clark was being serious. "Can you leave us a moment?" He asked Lois to leave.

"Daddy, I would rather stay." She fired back.

"Lo, give me five minutes." He ordered her to leave.

As soon as the door was closed he began his onslaught. "So Clark, why the sudden 180? The last thing I heard was that you two were struggling to be in the same room together, now you are trying to get into the same bed." He announced, pulling no punches.

"It is not like that. I had been blinded to my feelings for her, but now my eyes have been opened and I realise that she means the world to me."

"I am going to make this easy for you and as painless as possible. You leave my daughter alone or I will make sure she leaves your life forever. I brought my daughter up to be wise to men like you and I must say that I am disappointed that she has fallen for it. "

"Fallen for what?" Clark asked with annoyance. "I'm not on trial Sam. It's no wonder Lois is too afraid to be herself around you."

"Mr Kent, are you questioning my relationship with my daughter? " he shouted.

"You are questioning my relationship with Lois." Clark fired back.

" It's my right to protect my family!" Sam defended himself.

" It may be your right! But you're wrong to think that we don't belong together, I love your daughter and I don't want a day to go by where I'm not with her. "

" Well I hope you enjoy it today, because it's the last day you'll ever spend with her. She will be returning to Washington with me in the morning."

Lois burst in. "I can hear the shouts out here, and dad, I will not be coming with you in morning. My life and future are here with Clark."

Sam glared at her. "How can you be stupid, Lo? You cannot stand the sight of him normally. You are just doing this to get back at me, aren't you? Do you really know what his intentions are?"

" It doesn't matter. Because I love Clark and I know he loves me."

"Lois, you are coming with me." Sam continued to bark orders.

" I appreciate that you like straight talk, so I will give it to you in one razor sharp line; I'm staying with Clark, and if you love me...you will respect that."

She took Clark's hand and walked towards the door, but before she could open it, they were flung open, revealing five men with machine guns.

Sam was distracted. "I did not call for security. Stand down with your guns!"

One of the men piped up. "General Lane, sit down and shut up." He announced as he smacked Sam in the face with the butt on his gun, leaving him to fall to the ground in a heap.

Lois looked at Clark, who's expression told her to hold back for a while….


	19. Chapter 19

"Sit down now, Ms Lane." The remaining soldier barked at her to sit down on the seat next to Clark. The other four had left the room.

"I need to see my father is ok. He may be seriously injured." She exclaimed as she knelt down on the floor where the General was still out cold.

Lois and Clark were both zeroed in on the conversation occurring just outside.

"So, how long until we get access? We want the President to know we are serious and to do that we need to give him a demonstration. " The obvious leader of the group announced.

"But we need the codes and the only people who will be able to access them are the three Generals. Harper will be back soon with the other two and hopefully Lane will have come around by then. Why did you have to hit him so hard, Jones?" One of the other soldier replied.

Jones replied with annoyed tone. "Walsh, he has always treated me like a dog so why not use the opportunity to get some payback. "

Walsh shook his head. "You will have plenty of time for permanent payback later. It is just a shame that those other two had to become involved. This could get quite messy."

Jones laughed. "Do you really think a few more deaths are going to make any difference after we nuke that government installation? Now is not the time for remorse about taking a few extra lives."

Walsh chuckled. "Guess not!"

Clark looked at Lois to see if she had heard what he had. The look on her face told him she had.

"Can you at least get him a first aid kit for this laceration on his head?" Lois asked the soldier guarding them, sensing his nervousness at the situation.

"Ok, give me a moment. I will go and get one."

As soon as he left the room, she whispered under her breath. "I never knew Fort Ryan stockpiled nukes."

"Maybe it is a top class secret." Clark replied as quietly as possible so they were not overheard. "It could explain why your father is here and why the security is so OTT."

"Well it hasn't worked. The other generals must have been kidnapped and are on their way here. Let's act now!"

"No, we can't. If word gets to the other generals' kidnappers then they could be killed. We need to make sure everyone is safe before we act. Let's just wait longer. "Clark replied.

"Clark, what happens if we need to…" She whispered back,

"I trust you implicitly." He kissed her knowing exactly what she meant.

Their exchange was interrupted by a moan.

"Daddy…" Lois knelt next to her father, as he opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

"Lo!" he announced in an almost incomprehensively voice. "What happened?"

She placed her hand on his chest to get him to lie back. "Stay still. We have a situation going on. Are there any nuclear missiles on this base?"

Sam was starting to realise what had happened. He nodded. "Yes there are 30 nuclear warheads in an underground silo on the other side of the base. That is why I am here. The recent security breach was enough to alert the top brass of a possible plot. We thought we had thwarted it when we found those guns."

Lois explained. "Well it seems we have an insider job going on. They are bringing two other generals to the base. Apparently the three of you have the required access codes to launch the missiles. They are planning to strike some military base to get the White House's attention."

"My god, one of the missiles could take out a whole city and make every town in a 500 mile radius uninhabitable for decades." The look on her father's face said it all. "We cannot allow this to happen. I will not tell them the launch codes."

"Well, they seem very confident that they will get them. " Lois added.

Clark smiled at the General as he came to help him into a comfortable chair. "Come on, Sir."

"Please call me Sam, Clark. I think our little spat is the least of our worries at the moment. We will need to keep together for this one. In fact if we make it out of this is one piece, I will even give Lois away at your wedding." He joked but with an underlying seriousness.

Lois smiled. "Ok, you're on, daddy. I guarantee that we will all make it out of this in one piece without any nuclear explosions."

Sam looked at her. "How can you be so calm?"

"Just trust us!" She replied, as she grabbed Clark's hand.

The guard came back in with a box of supplies. "Sergeant!" he shouted back through the door when he noticed Sam was conscious again.

Walsh and Jones appeared. "So, General Lane. Isn't this a turn up for the books?"

"Jones, how did you get onto the base? You were court martialled months ago!" Sam exclaimed as he realised who their captor was.

"I have some sympathisers on the base. Not everyone is as narrow minded as you, Lane. Some people considered what I did as the right thing to do."

"How can killing innocent people be the right thing to do?" Sam fired back.

"You were not there when they turned on our squad and executed them. Their families were just as guilty for hiding those murderers and their deaths were justified." Jones explained.

"It was cold blooded murder of innocent people and you will pay."

"Are you going to make me pay? I find that hard to believe when you consider I am the one with the gun."

"What is all of this about?" Sam asked, naively, pretending not to know.

"You are sitting on enough nuclear warheads to wipe out the planet and you really need to ask me that." Jones sneered.

Sam looked horrified. "You are not planning to launch them, are you? Do you know how many people would be killed – women and children."

"That is not my concern. Until the President recognises what the US Forces have to put up with fighting for causes that do not even concern us. He will soon have more pressing issues to worry about closer to his front door."

Clark piped up. "There must be another way. Why not lobby the Government through peaceful means?"

"Who asked you?" Jones shot him a look. "I suggest you shut up if you know what is good for you."

"I will not give you the launch codes." Sam announced sternly.

Jones walked over to Lois and started to cup her chin before squeezing it hard. "I was going to torture you, General …but I have another idea."

Clark walked over and went to grab Jones's hand but felt a rifle poking him in the stomach to stop him moving forward any further. "Do that again, and it will be a bullet you feel." Walsh warned him to back off.

Lois held her hand up to tell Clark to back off. She took a step back, freeing herself from Jones' vice-like grip and punched him so hard that it knocked him off his feet. "Don't you ever touch me again!" She ordered.

Jones picked himself off the floor, the intense anger evident on his face. "You are mine… later." He scowled at her.

Lois put on a nervous look, so not to arouse suspicions.

There was a knock at the door and two blindfolded and handcuffs individuals in military uniform were pushed in.

"General Addison and General Williams…. How nice of you to join us!" Jones signalled for their blindfolds to be taken off.

The two military men were ushered into a seat in the corner of the large room.

"Ok, let's get this party started. " Walsh announced. "Don't worry we are not going to spend the next two hours torturing you. We thought we would make this decision easier for you."

Two soldiers brought in two portable TV's and put them on the desk in front of the General's. "We thought now might be a good time to catch up with some loved ones so they can say goodbye to you."

Two separates scenes flashed on the screens, both containing blindfolded people sitting down with soldiers standing behind them with guns pointed at their heads. Both Generals stared in horror. Clark and Lois looked at each other, realising this was becoming more complicated by the second.

Jones looked across at Sam. "It is even better for you as you get to say goodbye to your daughter in person. In fact, we need a change of plan. Walsh, take Ms Lane down to cellars and set up the camera. I will take this job on personally."


	20. Chapter 20

"No…" Sam screamed as two soldiers started to lead Lois out of the room. "Take me instead." He lurched forward to try and protect his daughter.

Clark noticed the bullet being fired from Walsh's gun and heading towards Sam's knee. He used all of his speed to divert it, before heading back to his original spot on the chair. Luckily no-one except Lois noticed him doing it.

Jones sighed as he realised Walsh had missed his target. "How can you miss? It was a point-blank shot."

"I don't know." The look on Jones's face showed his utter confusion. "It must have been a misfire. I will not miss this time." He pointed his gun at Sam's kneecap.

Jones intervened. "Don't! Let's make this a little more interesting. Take General Lane down to the basement so he can watch. I think it will have more effect if he actually sees what is happening first hand. In fact let's not bother with the cameras. It will take too long to set up." He snapped.

Sam felt a gun pushing into his back, urging for him to move forward. Lois was walking alongside him. "Lo, I am so sorry about this."

He felt the gun prodding into his skin. "Silence!" Walsh ordered as he ushered them down some stairs.

Minutes later they found themselves shackled to two chairs in the basement as Walsh laughed. "Don't go anywhere! We will not keep you waiting too long." He left them.

Lois looked at Sam who had a look of sheer terror on his face. She had always seen him as a gruff and imposing General rather than a father and to see such vulnerability in his expression was very unsettling.

"Lois, I love you. I did not mean for this to happen. I will give them the codes." He replied.

"I love you too, daddy. I will explain everything later, but just know that we will be ok. Just sit back and enjoy the fireworks." Lois explained calmly and cryptically.

"What are you on about?" Sam asked, wondering if Lois had been taking some kind of illegal substances.

"Trust me!" she smiled, as Jones entered the room.

He took a seat a few meters away from the captives. "So, General. Are you going to give you the codes?"

Lois laughed. "No he isn't."

Jones glared at her. "Who asked you? I was asking your father."

"I am not going to tell you." Sam backed Lois. "I will not let you kill millions of innocent people."

"Ok…" Jones took out a knife. "That is a shame! Your daughter used to have such a pretty face." Sam watched in horror as he placed the knife to Lois's cheek and started to cut into her skin.

He pulled on his shackles, but could not make any headway. He winced, waiting for her screams but they never came.

All he saw was the look of panic on Jones's face as he realised his knife was having no effect on her skin.

She smiled. "I think your knife must be blunt."

"What the hell…" Jones exclaimed, as he lost it and tried to plunge the knife into her shoulder, but he felt instant resistance as the knife bounced off.

"I think you need to take that knife back for a refund. It is obviously faulty." She laughed in his face, angering him even more.

"Ok, let's try your father's face and see if it works on him." Jones headed towards Sam with the knife.

"Maybe not!" Lois said as she snapped off her chains, got up and walked towards Jones calmly. At the same time her eyes glowed red as she heated up the knife just enough to make him drop it.

She then picked Jones up by the throat and flung him across the room so he hit the wall before collapsing in a heap.

She turned around to see her father with an incredulous look on his face. "Daddy, I will be back in five minutes. Can you scream a bit to make it sound like there is some torturing going on?"  
All Sam could do in response was to nod his head.

Lois picked Jones up and sped out of the room. Moments later she arrived at John's office at the Met PD. He was surprised to see her standing there with an unconscious man in her arms.

"John... listen carefully. This man is one of five who have taken over Fort Ryan with the plan to take over the nuclear weapons stored there. They want to wipe out part of the US to make the President take notice. At the moment, there are two General's families being held captive. Can you get addresses for them?" She told him their names.

He jumped into action and found the information they need.

"John, I will take the family in New Orleans and you take the one in Miami. Take the cameras out first and I will meet you back here." She nodded.

"I will do both. You need to stay here with him in case he wakes up." The martian explained.

"I have a better idea for him." Lois announced as she sped off with Jones.

Three minutes later, John and Lois arrived back at the office. "Sorted… the kidnappers have been taken out of action although the families may wonder what happened." John explained.

"Right, can you morph into Jones and come back to the base with me?" Lois asked.

"Well my name is Jones so I am sure I can manage it." John laughed.

Moments later, they were back in the basement with Sam. "What is going on?" He demanded to know as he noticed Jones was back.

"Daddy, this is not the real Jones. I know it is hard but play along."

Sam nodded.

Suddenly they were interrupted by Walsh bursting through the door. "The cameras are down at the houses and we cannot get in contact with the men."

John looked at him. "I was told there were some technical difficulties when setting them up. I am coming now. General Lane has taken the sensible option and told me the codes."

Walsh smiled. "Ok… one down, two to go." As Lois and Sam were ushered back up the stairs. "I thought you would have done a better job on Ms Lane though. Maybe I could help you with that later."

John shook his head. "No, she is all mine! I like the feisty ones." Lois just looked at him, unsure whether John was actually implying anything by that comment.

As soon as Lois entered the room, she ran over to Clark and hugged him. "What happened?" he whispered in her ear.

"I will let John explain." She replied quietly.

_Kal-el, we have rescued the two families so everyone is safe. I am not sure where Lois has put the real Jones, but as you can see I am now him. Just follow her lead, as I am sure she has some kind of plan._  
Clark heard John laugh in his head as part of his telepathic message and he managed a little smirk at that comment. He looked over at Sam; it was very obvious that Lois had revealed her powers to her father as his color was decidedly pale.

He looked over to his girlfriend and whispered. "Lois, let's end this quickly. We promised Jor-el that we would be at the Fortress by sundown."

But before Lois could respond, General Addison lifted his leg and kicked Walsh in his lower back. The soldier reacted by turning around with his gun, aiming it at the General, then he pulled the trigger. At the same time, the other guards burst in and panicked, firing their guns at the hostages. Clark reacted by placing himself in front of the Generals, allowing the bullets to ricochet off his chest.

Meanwhile Lois and John took out all the other kidnappers including Walsh.

By this point, Sam could not take any more and had passed out in shock.

John sighed as he took in the scene of four soldiers heaped on the floor and two Generals sitting in their seats, frozen by shock. "I guess I had better get started on the mindwipes. Lois, could you go and retrieve Jones?" He asked as he morphed into his usual earthly disguise. "Although we do have a small problem. I forgot to tell you that I cannot mind-wipe the same person twice."

Clark's face dropped. "You're kidding… right."

John shook his head. "For some reason, it only works once on humans. I would have told you earlier but the damage was already done."

Lois smiled and whispered something in Clark's ear, to which he nodded in agreement. She got up and headed off to fetch Jones.

An hour later, the cavalry arrived in the form of a specialist Navy Seals team, who were all shocked that they had missed all of the action and the situation was under control.

Sam was taken to Smallville Hospital under armed guard, along with Lois and Clark who went along with him. They waited outside the room whilst the doctor checked him over.

"I hope I made the right decision." Lois paced up and down nervously.

Clark rubbed her shoulder. "Don't worry, Lo. You didn't have a choice anyway so there is no point in beating yourself up about it."

"But what if he tells the doctors what he saw?" she asked.

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Maybe we need to give your father some credit."

The doctor appeared from the room. "Your father will see you both now."

Lois grabbed Clark's hand as she took a deep breath and they entered the room to face the music….


End file.
